POBUSHBD VlfDBR THE DIRECTION OF 

-THE KITCHEN-GARDEN ASSOCIATION 



Household Economy 



A MA^rmm FOR schools 




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.LAKEMAIM, TAYLOR, AND COMPANY. 



LIBRARY C" CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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Household Economy 



A MANUAL FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 




Sf)£ loofeEtij torll to tfjc toags of ijcr fjoxiscfjolU ■ 



PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 



THE KITCHEN- GARDEN AS^-CTA 




IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR, AND COMPANT 

NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 

1882 



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Copyright, 1882, 
By IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR, AND COMPANY. 



PREFACE. 



In preparing this book on the ordinary routine 
work of a household, the writers have endeavored to 
supply a want long felt by almost every class of 
society, — that of a clear, concise, and systematic 
text-book on those duties which always have claimed, 
and probably always will claim, the main thought and 
time of the vast majority of women. 

In spite of the fact that each generation opens 
new careers of usefulness to woman, many of which 
she has adorned, and which it is honorable in her to 
pursue, it is nevertheless true, that woman's kingdom 
is pre-eminently the home. 

Any thorough course of instruction in household 
matters is a preparation for the ordinary life-work of 
a woman, whatever her station. There is scarcely any 
sphere of activity into which she can enter, where 
the knowledge of some part at least of household 
duties will not materially assist her. 

It is of the highest importance, especially at this 



IV PREFACE. 



time, when so many false ideas on the subject pre- 
vail, that our young girls should realize the fact that 
there is nothing degrading in household work or in 
domestic service. 

A distinguished woman has well expressed this idea 
in the following paragraph : — 

*' The wrongly-educated woman thinks her duties 
a disgrace, and frets under them, or shirks them if 
she can. She sees man triumphantly pursuing his 
vocations, and thinks it is the kind of work he does 
which makes him regnant ; whereas it is not the kind 
of work at all, but the way in which and the spirit 
with which he does it." 

This mistake leads young women to devote time 
and energy exclusively to what are termed the higher 
branches of education. In doing this they neglect 
the lowlier, but not less noble, study of domestic 
science, and so enter upon life unprepared for the 
duties that usually await them. Such neglect can not 
be too greatly deplored. The time spent in acquiring 
a knowledge of domestic science is never in vain, if 
it enables women to attend wisely and faithfully to 
what is necessary to the comfort and happiness of 
home. 

It is desirable, therefore, that every woman should 
acquire a thorough knowledge of domestic economy. 
The aim of this book is to give such information ; 



PREFACE. V 

and it is commended to the earnest attention of all 
those who desire to fit themselves for that position 
which it is woman's special privilege to adorn. 

" She looketh well to the ways of her household," 
- — words that the wise man coupled with prosperity 
and honor, still promise the same blessing upon the 
faithful performance of those duties which, as part of 
woman's inheritance, we may not put aside. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

PREFACE "i 

Chapter L — THE KITCHEN i 

Sect. I. Care of the Kitchen and Cellar ... i 

Sect. H. Marketing 7 

Sect. HI. Food 12 

Sect. IV. Plain Cooking 25 

Questions 3° 

Chapter II. — THE LAUNDRY 32 

Sect. I. Furnishing the Laundry 32 

Sect. II. Washing 35 

Sect. III. Starching and Ironing 38 

Questions 41 

Chapter III. — THE DINING-ROOM 42 

Sect. I. Arrangement of the Dining-room ... 42 

Sect. II. Table Service 46 

Sect. III. The Care of China, Glass, and Silver . 50 

Questions 53 

Chapter IV. — CHAMBER-WORK 54 

Sect. I. The Care of the Bedroom 54 

Sect. II. Fires and Grates 58 

Sect. III. Bathroom and Closets 60 

Sect. IV. Halls and Stairs 63 

Questions 66 

Chapter V. — HOUSE-CLEANING 67 

Sect. I. The Weekly Cleaning • . . (>l 

Sect. II. General House-cleaning 71 

Questions 82 

vii 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Chapter VI. — DRESS 83 

Sect. I. Uses and Materials of Dress 83 

Sect. II. Plain Sewing 90 

Questions 93 

Chapter VII. — THE LIBRARY . ..... . . . . . 94 

Sect. I. The Field of Reading 94 

Sect. II. Arrangement and Care of the Library, 96 

Questions 100 

Chapter VI IL — HEALTH AND ILLNESS loi 

Sect. I. Hygiene loi 

Sect. II. Care of the Sick 107 

Sect. III. Emergencies 121 

Questions 128 

Chapter IX. — ECONOxMY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES . . . 131 

Sect. I. Economy 131 

Sect. II. System 134 

Sect. III. Conclusion — Household Amenities . . 136 

Questions 140 



Household Economy. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE KITCHEN. 

SECTION I. — CARE OF THE KITCHEN AND CELLAR. 

" Much of the comfort and health of the household depend 
upon an orderly and well-regulated kitchen. We treat the 
subject under the following heads : The Daily Care of the 
Kitchen ; Cooking Utensils ; The Weekly Kitchen Cleaning. 

Making the Fire* — After opening the kitchen, the first 
thing to be done in the morning is to attend to the fire ; the 
paper, kindling and coal having all been made ready the after- 
noon before to avoid delay. The range or stove should be 
emptied of all dust and ashes; pieces of coal only partially 
burned should be carefully picked out to be used again, and 
the ashes put in the ash-can carried away. In making the fire, 
first put in loose rolls of paper, then the kindling (pine is best). 
Lay the kindlings crosswise, and not too close together, that 
the air may pass freely through. When the kindling is well 
ignited, the coal should be put on, in small quantities at first ; 



HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



more being added as this becomes heated. Turn the dampers 
so as to make a draught. 

While the range is heating, the kitchen may be hghtly dusted, 
after which the breakfast should be prepared. 

Kitchen Washing, — Breakfast over, the utensils and 
dishes used in cooking should be washed, and either put 
away at once or left on the range for an hour or so to dry 
thoroughly. Brush off the range, and rub it with stove-polish 
if it is greasy. Mats or pieces of carpet should be shaken, and 
the floor swept. The furniture, and tin ware if hung on the 
walls of the kitchen, should be dusted. 

The sink must be washed with soap or soda and a stiff brush 
after each meal. If any refuse should be in it after washing 
the dishes or iron pots, it must be removed at once, and not 
allowed to get into the waste-pipes, which it would soon choke 
up entirely. This can not be attended to with too much care. 

The kitchen dish-towels must be washed in hot suds every 
day, and thoroughly boiled twice a week. No dishes or utensils 
can be well taken care of unless the dish-towels used are clean. 

Do not allow soiled dishes to stand, but scrape and wash 
them as soon as possible, and after each meal set the kitchen in 
order before proceeding to other work. 

When the last meal of the day is over, the kitchen should be 
put in order, the utensils washed, all food put away in closets 
or refrigerator, the tables wiped off, and the hearth brushed up. 

Cooking Utensils, — Among the articles in iron ware in 
constant use in the kitchen are stewpots, saucepans, frying- 



THE KITCHEN. 



pans, dripping-pans, porcelain-lined pots, gridirons, griddles, 
soup, fish, and tea kettles. In tin ware are dishpans, sauce- 
pans, pails, pint and quart measures, colander, skimmer, muffin 
rings, and spoons. In wooden ware, rolling-pin, chopping- 
tray, bread-board, potato-masher, spoons, pails, etc. Knives 
of various kinds are needed in the kitchen. Copper instead 
of iron utensils are often used. 

All these utensils require constant care, and should be always 
washed after being used, as well as thoroughly scoured once a 
week. 

The iron pots should be washed with, soft soap or washing- 
soda, with a linked metal scourer, or with a dishcloth kept for 
the pots. If the food adheres to the sides, fill the pots with 
water, and leave them standing on the range for an hour or so. 

They must be thoroughly dried before putting them away, 
to prevent their rusting. 

As many articles as possible should be hung up on hooks. 
If after using, any of the iron utensils are greasy, burnt or 
discolored, a little soda boiled in them will usually cleanse 
them. 

The tins should be washed with hot suds as soon as possi- 
ble after using. To keep them bright they should be scoured 
once a week, with soap and sand or with sa polio, which 
answers the same purpose. They must be thoroughly dried 
with a soft cloth. 

The copper utensils should be cleaned with vinegar and 
salt rubbed on with flannel. Polish them with flannel or 
chamois. 

Wooden ware should be washed with cold water and sand. 



HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



The knives used in the kitchen should be cleaned every 
day with bath- brick. 

For the care of china, glass and silver see the chapter on the 
Dining-Room, Sect. III., p. oo. 

Each dish and utensil should be wiped off just before 
using it either in cooking or on the table to remove the dust 
from the fire which will settle on them. 

The Refrigerator, — Great care must be taken with the 
refrigerator. It should be thoroughly scrubbed out at least 
once a week with borax and water, and well aired. The 
blanket used on the ice should be dried every day, and 
washed once a week. When milk and butter are kept in the 
refrigerator, neither fruit, vegetables like onions or garlic, or 
highly spiced food should be put in it, as they will give the 
butter and milk a disagreeable taste. Cold meats, vegetables 
or other food should not be put away on the dishes used on 
the table when it can be avoided. 

If a pan is used to catch the water from the refrigerator, 
care must be taken not to allow it to overflow. If a waste- 
pipe from the refrigerator is connected with the main soil- 
pipe, this waste-pipe must be well trapped. Serious illness, 
even deaths have resulted from the neglect of this. 

The Weekly Kitchen Clemiinr/, — Although the clean- 
ing of utensils and fixtures is a daily duty, there should be in 
addition a more thorough cleaning of the kitchen itself and 
of its furniture and various closets. 

The flues of the range should be cleared once a week of 



THE KITCHEN. 5 



the' dust and ashes, and the range blackened with stove- 
polish. 

The cleaning of the flues should be done some stated morn- 
ing of the week before lighting the fire. Each closet, pot- 
closet, store-room, china-closet or dresser should be cleaned 
once a week. The floors should be scrubbed and the shelves 
wiped with damp cloth and papered. The utensils should be 
scoured as directed under Cooking Utensils. 

Where there is a great deal of cooking it is better not to 
leave the cleaning of all the closets and of the kitchen and 
refrigerator to be done on one or two days of the week. It 
makes the work much easier to do a certain part of it each 
day; for instance, the pot-closet and pots on Monday, the 
store-room or closet on Tuesday, the china-closet or dresser 
on Wednesday, tins and coppers on Thursday, refrigerator and 
hall on Friday, and the kitchen itself and the range on Satur- 
day. The work should be arranged systematically and done 
in the easiest way that thoroughness will permit. 

If the kitchen floor is carpeted it should be sprinkled with 
tea-grounds and thoroughly swept. 

If it is of painted wood, scrub it with cold water only. 

If covered with oil-cloth, it should be first swept with a 
hair broom, then wiped up with a cloth and water. A little 
milk in the water will make the colors bright. 

The walls may be kept free from dust by wiping them down 
occasionally with a soft cloth, wrapped on a long-handled 
brush. 

The copper boiler and faucets should be cleaned with 
oxalic acid. Put a pint of water to ten cents' worth of oxalic 



HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



acid powder ; when dissolved put it in a bottle tightly corked, 
and label it " Oxalic Acid — Poison." It should never be 
used on any cooking utensils, being an active poison. 

The boiler should be cleaned when nearly cold. Rub it 
with flannel wet in the oxalic acid and water, and polish with 
flannel or chamois. Clean copper faucets in the same way. 

The kitchen tables if of pine should be scrubbed with cold 
water and sand, in the direction of the grain of the wood. 
If they are made of hard wood use no sand. 

Kitchen Odors may be prevented by throwing a few 
pieces of charcoal into the pots, kettles or pans while cook- 
ing. A little bread tied in a piece of muslin and put into 
the pots, etc., is most excellent for the same purpose. 

T7ie Cellar. — A thorough housekeeper will always see 
that the cellar has its due share of attention in the daily care 
and weekly cleaning. For the health of the household, clean- 
liness and order are as necessary in the cellar as in the bed- 
room or parlor. Although it is seen by few, it should receive 
the same care and attention as the other parts of the house. 

A good cellar should be perfectly dry, light and well ven- 
tilated, not only in the part where provisions are kept, but 
also in that allotted to the furnace, coal, wood, etc. 

A cemented floor is best, being dryer and more easily kept 
clean than any other. The walls should be whitewashed, and 
the whitewash renewed once a year (in the spring), to keep 
the cellar fresh and sweet. 

The cellar should be cleaned once a week ; coal dropped 



THE KITCHEN. 



on the floor must be returned to the bins, wood and kindlings 
piled neatly in their allotted places; ashes, dust and rubbish 
must be removed, and the floor thoroughly swept. It is well 
to brush down the walls occasionally in order to remove any 
dust or cobwebs that may have collected on them. 

In the provision cellar the shelves or closet should be well 
scrubbed. Vegetables and fruit should be looked over, and 
any decaying ones among them at once removed. Neglect 
of this is often the cause of sickness in the household. 

The steps leading to the cellar must be scrubbed. The 
cellar windows should be washed as often as they require it. 
All articles belonging in the cellar should be arranged in 
order. 



SECTION U.~ MARKETING. 

TFIien to Learn Markethuj. ~ Every woman should 
understand how to purchase family stores, and this knowl- 
edge must be acquired in girlhood. It is no time to begin 
learning how to market after she has the entire responsibility 
of a home thrown upon her. Information pertaining to the 
necessaries of life and to the care of domestic concerns 
should be gained while in her teens, so that by the time a 
girl becomes of age she wiU be ready to undertake the respon- 
sibilities of the household. 

Nothing is more important than the proper selection of 
food. Marketing may be done in two ways; first, in an 
extravagant way, which is frequendy due to ignorance, and 
second, in a sensible economical way. The cheapest kinds 



8 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

of food are sometimes the most wholesome and strengthening, 
but in order to obtain their best quahties we must know how- 
to choose them for their freshness, goodness and suitabiHty to 
our needs. 

Choosing Dealers. — x^fter you have settled in a place, 
select dealers, and when you have satisfied yourself that 
those whom you have tried are honest, keep to them. They 
will take greater interest in supplying a regular customer at 
reasonable rates than one who only buys of them occasion- 
ally, and if you pay in ready money they will be all the 
more glad to serve you. 

One word of caution ; s/iim the credit system. Debts are 
bad pillows to rest on. 

Buying Beef* — Remember that ox or bullock beef is 
the best. The animal should be five years old before it is 
killed. It should be fine grained, the lean a bright red color 
and streaks of fat running through it. Unless there is a 
good quantity of the fat, which should be of a rich clear 
white, the meat will be tough and not good flavored. The 
heifer or cow beef is paler than ox beef, and finer grained. 
It is not so desirable, because it is less rich and juicy. When 
the meat is of a very dark red and the fat skinny then it is 
too old. To test beef, press the thumb down in it ; if it 
rises quickly the meat is good ; if not, then it is poor. The 
best pieces for roasting are the porter-house cuts and the 
sirloin or middle ribs. The sirloin is cut from the "chump 
end " and has a good fillet. 



THE KITCHEN. 



Porter-house steak is the best for broihng, but sirloin steaks 
are the most economical ; they are larger and cheaper. 

For beef tea buy beef cut from the round. 

For soup meat get the upper part of the leg and a few 
pounds of the round. The upper part of the leg and three 
or four pounds of the round will make six or eight quarts of 
good stock. There should be as little fat as possiljle in soup 
meat. 

In corned beef, the rump is the best for boiling. 

The " plate piece " is very nice for pressing and serving 
cold. 

Btiying Veal, — Veal is generally considered less desir- 
able than beef, but we need a variety of meats, and if the 
veal is perfectly fresh and sweet there is little risk in using it. 
The calf should be about two months old ; if it is older than 
this, the meat is apt to be coarse. Veal should be small and 
of a pale color, the kidney well covered with fat, the flesh 
dry and almost white. If it is at all clammy do not buy it. 
The roasting pieces are the fillet, loin and shoulder. A 
knuckle of veal makes excellent soup. 

Pork, — It is unsafe to buy pork of any dealer unless you 
can trust him. 

It is not a very healthy meat, with some people always 
causing indigestion. So much pork is fattened with refuse, 
instead of being " corn fed," that we can not be too careful in 
buying, as it is sometimes diseased. If it is flabby, clammy 
or has kernels in the fat, let it alone. The fat should be 



HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



hard, the lean almost white, the grain fine and the rind thin 
and smooth. 

Lamb is one of our most delicious meats ; it is tender, 
sweet and nourishing. Lamb should be small, pale red, and 
fat. The loin is the best for roasting and the leg for boiling. 
The best lamb chops are taken from the ribs ; when trimmed 
nicely they are called " French chops." Those taken from 
the leg have more meat on them. A lamb is divided into 
two fore-quarters and two hind-quarters, all of which are good 
for roasting. 

Mutton is a sheep of about two years old ; it should be 
dark colored and have plenty of fat. All the joints may be 
roasted. 

A saddle of mutton is two legs and two loins ; the leg or 
the loin is best for roasting. The leg is often boiled ; chops 
are cut from the loins, cutlets from the leg. The neck is the 
best for broth. 

Fowls. — In selecting fowls get the male birds ; if they 
are young they will have smooth legs and short spurs ; the 
feet will be pliable, and the eyes full and bright. Hens may 
be judged by the same signs. Never get a chicken that has 
begun to turn blue, or that has stiff feet. The vent of all fowls 
should be firm and not discolored. 

Fish must be perfectly fresh. The body should be stiff, 
the eyes bright, the gills clear red. If you want to broil your 
fish get the fishman to split it. 



THE KITCHEN. u 



Vegetables and Fruit, — Among the many articles of 
food there is nothing more healthy than good, fresh vegetables 
and fruit, and nothing more injurious to health than those that 
are stale and unripe. 

In cities it is difficult to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. 
Unless you can get them within a few hours after they come 
from the garden, it is better to use only those kinds which do 
not have to be eaten as soon as they are picked. 

Those that are the safest to buy are the following : pota- 
toes, turnips, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, and 
parsnips. 

The Alpha and Early Rose are very good early potatoes. 
The Red Peach Blow is another good variety, and the Snow- 
flake is a good winter potato. Smooth, even, medium-sized 
potatoes are the most economical. June is the month when 
vegetables are most abundant. 

Leguminous vegetables are called pt^lse. Pedse, beans and 
lentiles belong to this class. 

Pease and beans when dried are less digestible and healthful 
than when eaten green. Green pease, string, butter and Lima 
beans are all good. 

Asparagus and spinach must be tender and crisp to be 
good. 

For baking or cooking you want tart apples, as pippins or 
greenings. There is a great variety of apples, and these are 
only two of many good kinds. 



12 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



SECTION III. — FOOD. 

The subject of food may be conveniently treated under the 
following inquiries: What Shall We eat? W^hen Shall We 

EAT? AND How ShALL W^E EAT? 

Assuming that it is understood how to judge of the food 
offered in market, how to care for it after it is brought into 
the house, and how to cook it suitably, the remaining ques- 
tion to be considered is, What shall we select as being good 
for food? 

It should be borne in mind that every person has his 
peculiarities of constitution. What may be good for one, 
will prove injurious to another, so that all that can be done 
here is to lay down a iew broad, general rules. What follows 
is not supposed to apply to invalids, whose i^articular cases are 
studied by the physician, and left to his direction, but only 
to those in ordinary health. 

A Mixed Diet the Best, — Our bodies are made up of 
different tissues. Each needs its proper nourishment, and no 
one kind of food contains all the elements which go to make it 
up. What is called a " mixed diet " is therefore recommended 
by physicians, and commends itself to common sense ; that 
is, a diet composed of meat and vegetables in proper 
quantities. 

Meat enriches the blood and tends to produce firmness of 
muscle and general strength. Yet too much meat does not 



TMM mf(^^^EN. 13 



strengthen, or tend towards health, but is injurious. If eaten 
in excessive quantities, or to the exckision of other food, it 
sometimes produces loss of appetite, a constantly tired feel- 
ing, derangement of the stomach, headache, thinness, and 
eruptive skin diseases. Conversely, those who from caprice 
of appetite, or false notions of delicacy, refuse meat entirely, 
are often pale, weak, flabby in muscle, with bloodless lips, and 
a disposition to chilliness. 

More meat is needed in winter than in summer, since it is 
very nourishing, and if fat it is productive of heat. Upon an 
average, about one-fourth of the whole weight of food con- 
sumed during the twenty-four hours should be animal food. 

What Meats are Best, — Some meats are more easily 
digested than others. Mutton comes first in this respect, and 
then beef; they are therefore the best meats for children. But 
the digestion of a child is delicate, and the child does not 
require the same proportion of animal food as a grown person. 

A not unreasonable prejudice exists against pork. It is the 
most indigestible of all meats, and unless thoroughly cooked 
it is liable to produce a fatal disease. Corned, or smoked, it 
is not injurious ; this process usually sufficing to kill the germs 
of disease. The over-young veal, which often appears in our 
markets, is very unheal thful, and should not be eaten. In- 
deed, the flesh of immature animals is never as wholesome or 
nourishing as that of those which have reached maturity. 

The Use of Fats, — Fat should not be avoided, but 
freely used, except by those who are already too fleshy. It 



14 HO USE HOLD E CONOM Y. 

is in some degree a safeguard against lung complaints. Our 
lungs are an internal furnace whence vital heat is radiated ; 
and fats are the best fuel we can supply to keep up the heat 
of the system. It is an unhealthful as well as a wasteful habit 
to trim away the fat from our meat after it is set before us. 
The use of olive-oil in salads and other kinds of dressing is 
to be recommended. 

Butter is not only palatable, but wholesome, if eaten in 
moderate quantities. Too much fat deranges the stomach 
and impedes digestion. 

Fish when in good condition is an excellent article of 
food. It is easy of digestion, and rich in phosphorus, which 
is required by the brain. The same may be said of shell-fish, 
with the exception of crabs and lobsters, which are often very 
indigestible. 

Ffjgs are very nutritious. An ^gg weighs on an average 
about two ounces, nearly all of which is readily assimilated by 
the system. Yet, eaten in excess, they produce bilious dis- 
orders. Eggs are often more easily digested when boiled 
hard than when in a soft state. 

Vegetables and Fruit are most healthful and refreshing ; 
they are requisite to the needs of our bodies. They supply 
certain acids necessary to keep the system in order, and purify 
the blood from eruptive tendencies. Yet fruit eaten in too 
large quantities tends to biliousness ; and in very hot weather, 
when cholera lurks at every turn, should not be used without 
caution. 



THE kitchen: ■ f 5 



Cereals or grains of all sorts contain many elements ne- 
cessary to the nourishment of various parts of the body. They 
are light and digestible, very nutritious and fattening,- seldom 
irritating the stomach, or interfering with its action. They are 
valuable in the sick-room, and should form a considerable 
part of the food of every child over two years old. 

It is hardly necessary to urge people to eat bread, which is 
so full of wholesome nutriment ; but it should be eaten stale 
enough to be light and friable. Hot bread is more or less 
unwholesome, being not easily digestible for many persons. 

Broivii or Graham Bread should be more generally 
used, for it contains much starch and gluten that are lost in 
the process of refining flour to whiteness; and its coarse" 
grain promotes digestion. Hominy, oatmeal, grits, barley and" 
rice are excellent dishes, and will nourish and fatten. Buck- 
wheat, in moderation, is good ; too much of it sometimes 
makes the skin blotchy and eruptive. Indian meal is whole- 
some, but very hearty food ; eaten in summer it is heating 
to the blood, and apt to cause disorders of the bowels. 
Dainty preparations may be made from tapioca, sago, corn- 
starch, farina, and arrow-root granum, all of which may be 
freely eaten except by those inchned to corpulency. 

Sugar and all saccharine products are very nourishing. 
But some persons can not use them freely from the fact that 
sweets with them undergo fermentation in the stomach and 
turn to acid. When this occurs they ought to be let alone. 
Molasses or treacle is often, especially for children, a good 
substitute for laxative medicines. 



l6 household: ECOI^OMY, 

Sugar, at right times, and in right quantities, is good; but 
candies have so many admixtures that they are often harmful 
and sometimes very injurious. 

Milh is both food and drink. Life can be sustained upon 
milk alone for an indefinite period. It contains every thing 
necessary to the support of the body, and is at the same 
time so easily digested as to form the natural food of the 
youngest child ; and it should constitute the chief part of the 
diet of children. Most dyspeptics find milk the best possible 
ibod, — a boon which saves them from starvation. Yet some 
people are so unfortunately constituted that milk gives them 
distressing headache and nausea, and produces acute bilious- 
ness. A tablespoon of lime-water, added to a glass of milk, 
generally counteracts these evil tendencies, and renders it 
harmless and wholesome. 

Water forms a large part of the substance of our bodies. 
A great deal of this is taken into the system in solid food 
consumed, but the sensation of thirst warns us when more 
is needed. 

Iced wafer is the commonest beverage in America, but its 
effects are often bad. Its intense coldness at times almost 
paralyzes digestion, and prevents food from being assimilated. 
But Croton water, drawn from lead pipes, in summer particu- 
larly, is disagreeable without ice. The least injurious way 
in which iced water can be taken is by sipping it slowly ; 
in this way each mouthful is partially warmed before being 
swallowed. Little bits of ice, held in the mouth till melted, 



THE KITCHEN. 



serve the purpose both of cooling the mouth and throat, and 
of satisfying thirst. The water thus swallowed, having been- 
warmed, is harmless, even to invalids. If there be any doubt 
as to the purity of drinking water it should be boiled ; this 
process, by killing the animalcules in it, renders it less likely 
to be injurious. Mineral waters, from their various medicinal 
properties, are often very serviceable. 

Tea is used in almost every household, and in moderation 
is very beneficial. Tea is not in itself nourishing, but it gives 
strength, and takes the place of nourishment to a certain 
degree. It forms an agreeable, warm drink, vvhich is neither 
heating to the blood, nor oppressive to the stomach. It 
causes perspiration, and thus healthfully cools the body when 
it is overheated. When we are fatigued, tea is an efficient 
restorative. It has a decided effect upon the nerves, and 
while from its exhilarating tendency it is good for persons of 
a heavy habit, with a tendency to sleepiness, it is exciting 
and over-stimulating to nervous people ; and it should be 
used by them in moderation. Large quantities of strong tea, 
especially green tea, induce distressing nervous disorders. 
Women usually drink too much of it. 

Coffee is quite as valuable as tea. It is heating and stimu- 
lating to the system ; and helps to sustain it under fatigue, 
exposure, and want of food. It is an excellent beverage for 
cold weather, but rather to be avoided in summer. Taken 
with sugar and milk, it is nourishing ; with many persons its 
habitual use tends to biliousness. Used without sugar or 



1-8 HOUSEHO-LD: ECONOMY. 

milk, it acts as a tonic, aids digestion, and is invaluable as a 
remedy for neuralgia and nervous headache. 

Chocolate is preferred by some to either tea or coffee. 
It has but little stimulating quality, being almost pure nutri- 
ment. Where the digestion is unimpaired, chocolate and the 
various preparations of cocoa will be found most nourishing 
and fattening. But they have a tendency to upset all but 
strong stomachs, and should be let alone by those upon whom, 
they have this effect. Broma and alkethrepta do not have 
this effect, and are very nutritious. 

Condiments, sauces, relishes and spices, hardly fall under 
any rules except those suited for the individual. Their use 
is to render food more palatable, and so to increase the quan- 
tity that may be eaten. They can not be considered injurious, 
upon the whole, except in cases where there is an inherent 
tendency to dyspepsia. 

Considering these simple facts about the nature and effects 
of food, and the immense variety offered in our markets, it 
would seem an easy matter to make one's diet tend always in 
the direction of health, and consequendy of comfort and 
happiness. If any article, or kind of food, be found to dis- 
agree uniformly, it is the part of wisdom and common sense 
to discard it at once and permanently. 

When shall we Eat ? — In America, custom says that 
we should eat three times a day. There can be, however, no 
cast-iron rule. There are those whose waking hours are so 



THE kitchen: 19 



many, and -whose labor is so arduous, that they require an 
extra meal. Infants and small children need frequent feeding, 
a little at a time, because of their limited powers of digestion. 
For the same reason dyspeptics, like children, must let " little 
and often " be their rule. Weak stomachs can not dispose of 
a quantity of food ; they are paralyzed by the amount of work 
required. Ordinarily, however, the division of the day into 
three regular meal-times answers a good purpose. This leaves 
four or five hours between each meal, which is time enough 
for digestion to be perfectly accomplished. 

Eating Irregularly. — The practice of eating at hap- 
hazard, now at one hour, now at another, disorders and be- 
wilders the digestive system, which being adapted to run in 
an orderly manner dislikes to be called upon to do work at 
all sorts of times, and takes its revenge for such treatment in 
sullen headaches, or spiteful fits of dyspepsia. So do not 
neglect to take a wholesome luncheon to school ; nor think 
when you are out shopping, or hurried in the work-room, 
that " it is no matter about eating." It is a matter of impor- 
tance that you should not leave without fuel the engine which 
supplies force to keep all the body in motion. If you do 
this, with night comes exhaustion, often sick headache, or, in 
robust constitutions, ravenous hunger. In the first case, the 
temptation is to decline all food and to take stimulants. In 
the second, it is to eat immoderately ; overloading the stomach, 
which being tired with the rest of the body "is at a disadvan- 
tage for the special effort required. The effect of the stimu- 
lants is to excite the nerves painfully ; and this excitement is 



20 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

followed by headache, feverishness, and low spirits. Over- 
eating causes a sense of repletion, nausea, stupidity, and 
sleepiness ; — and then, dyspepsia. Never eat much when 
greatly fatigued. You can not then digest food, and undi- 
gested food is worse than none at all. If you have been 
long without food, and faintness is added to fatigue, take a 
little light food, — a slice of bread and a cup of tea, a 
cracker and a glass of milk, — and but little of it ; and wait 
until you are rested for a full meal. 

It is cruel to make children wait till long past the usual 
time, if their places are wanted at table. They get cross over 
it because it makes them ill, though they do not know that. 
The fact that children need to eat oftener than grown people 
does not make it necessary that they should eat continually. 
If the httle ones are accustomed to having nothing given them 
between times, they will feel it no hardship to wait till the 
regular hours, and will come to the table with good appetite 
for food that will nourish them, — an appetite that has not 
been frittered away upon crackers, sweets, and so forth. 

Good Digestion, — After hunger is satisfied, we should 
not disturb the digestion of the food. From three to four 
hours is the average length of time required for digestion. If 
we take a second supply within an hour after the first, what 
happens? The stomach being given to doing one thing at a 
time, can not attend properly to what is partly digested, and 
also to raw material. For when we take food into our stom- 
achs, it passes into a wonderful chemical laboratory, whence 
it starts on a tour through the body ; each part of which 



THE KITCHEA\ 



catches up and appropriates what belongs to it. Now if, 
instead of nourishment, injurious substances are generated 
in the laboratory, they too travel through the body, carrying 
disease. Imagine what fermentation is going on within those 
who are constantly nibbling ! Think how vexed and fretted 
the systematic, orderly stomach gets over the me?ses that 
nibblers constantly send into it, keeping it always worried, yet 
never properly at work. 

Eat before Worhing, — An empty stomach gives a 
sense of faintness, and is a poor foundation for hard work. 
The theory of some over-ambitious people, that before break- 
fast is the time to do good work, is not true. Rugged con- 
stitutions may be able to endure the strain of walking or 
working before eating. But for many, the amount of labor 
necessary to prepare a full breakfast, and the time which 
must elapse between rising and the eating of this breakfast, 
are sufficient to make them feel sick, tired, and inert, all day, 
though they often do not know v.-hat ails them. It is urged 
upon those who have charge of the preparation of the first 
meal, and of the accompanying morning housework, that 
they do not work fasting, but eat, very soon after rising, a 
little light food ; — bread and butter, bread and milk, or, 
better still, warm oatmeal or hominy. Cases of permanent 
injury to health from neglect of these precautions have fallen 
within the writer's knowledge. 

Ijate Suppers, — Eating heartily just before going to bed 
is injurious. Digestion does not progress well during sleep ; 



22 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

since all the organs need to rest a part of the twenty-four 
hours. During sleep the powers lie dormant. The usual 
results of indigestion will follow a hearty supper taken just 
before sleeping. Yet, if sleeping be deferred for many hours 
after the last meal, and one is hungry, sleep will not be tran- 
quil or refreshing with this craving unsatisfied. Physicians 
say, "Do not eat heartily just before sleeping; but do not 
go to bed hungry." Nothing is better for a late supper than 
a glass of good milk. It is readily assimilated, rich in nour- 
ishment, and calls for no hard digestive work. Singularly 
enough, those who can not ordinarily touch milk, because of 
its bilious tendency, often find it perfectly harmless when 
taken at bed-time. 

How shall we Eat? — We should eat no more food 
than we have time to eat properly. Slow eating, and thorough 
mastication, are prime conditions of health. Slow eating, 
that food may be well mingled with saliva, which is necessary 
to its digestion ; thorough mastication, to save the stomach 
hard labor. 

Meal-thnes, — How to place our regular meals, and what 
to serve at each, are disputed points. Custom and family 
convenience must decide whether we shall dine at noon or 
at six o'clock. It is urged, on one side, that midday dinners 
allow a longer waking time for the heavy meal of the day to 
digest ; that the system is then less fatigued than at night, 
and in better order to take food; and that a hearty meal at 
night- produces heaviness and stupidity. But on the other 



THE KITCHEN. 23 



hand, while a noon dinner interrupts the busy work of the 
day, and is ahiiost sure to be hurried through, a late dinner 
comes after the day's toil is completed, and mind and body 
are then at leisure to discuss food slowly and comfortably. 
When dinner is served at six, three or four hours elapse 
before bed-time — quite long enough for digestion. And 
this is almost always a period of quiet and relaxation, such 
as could not be obtained at noon, and so is favorable to the 
digestive process. But children should always take their 
heaviest meal at noon, since their bed-time is early, or ought 
to be, if they are to grow strong. Those who go directly 
from the table to a course of hard work will need more food 
than those whose life is sedentary and easy. The brain worker 
needs different food from the manual laborer. Those exposed 
to great stress of weather must have food that will help them 
to withstand its effects. 

Fruit before Breakfast, — It is nowadays much tlie 
fashion to eat fruit before breakfast, and an excellent fashion 
it is for those who can do it. Those who get no injury from 
the practice, derive great benefit, finding fruit thus eaten an 
excellent corrective to the bowels. But there are those who 
render themselves a prey to sick headache if they eat fruit 
in the morning. Such ought not to force themselves to eat 
from a mistaken notion that fruit must be healthful, though 
its effects are bad. 

Soup at Dinner,. — To begin a dinner, however simple, 
with soup, is desirable for several reasons. The keen, edge 



24 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

of appetite being quieted, the temptation to overload the 
stomach is lessened ; and soup is a very nourishing and eco- 
nomical food. Very many different dishes at dinner, by 
tempting the appetite, are apt to cause us to eat more than 
we really need. 

Desserts. — The dessert need not be merely a pleasing 
of the palate at the expense of health. Eggs, milk, sugar, 
sago, tapioca, gelatine, fruit-jellies, with various preparations 
of cereals, are all valuable articles of diet, and form, if prop- 
erly used, the basis of nice desserts. Some pies, if crisp, 
light, well baked, and filled with fresh stewed fruit, may be 
eaten with impunity. But most pastry is indigestible and 
can not be ranked as nutritious food. 

It is a good rule to rise from the table feeling that one 
could eat more. 

Variety in Food, — A few words may be said about 
table furnishing and manners. Monotony in food leads one 
condemned to it to hate the thought of eating. She who 
attends to the supplying of the table should feel it shame 
not to bestow thought enough upon the matter to enable her 
to set forth an agreeable variety according to the season of 
the year. This need not mean an extravagant or fancy table, 
for there are many varieties of plain food ; but it does mean 
thought and study. 

An Attractive Table, — If you are at the head of a 
household, never slight those for whom you provide by put- 



THE KITCHEN, 25 



ting ill-cooked, slovenly food upon the table, with the plea 
that you " hadn't time to do it better." Take time enough 
to prepare at least one wholesome, appetizing dish, though it 
be but porridge or soup. Put it nicely before those who are 
to eat it ; before yourself, if you serve yourself. If you have 
ample means, see that your every-day table is set out as 
daintily and charmingly as if there were " company ; " for it 
is the instinct of a true woman to be, in all her belongings, 
just what she wishes to seem. If you have to look closely to 
expenses, still let perfect cleanliness and order reign, and 
omit no pretty garnishing and setting on that you can com- 
pass by ingenuity. A little womanly deftness will make some 
plain table furnishings inviting and nice. Never make an 
excuse for slovenliness, because you '' have so little." Have 
that little attractive. 



SECTION lY. — PLAIN COOKING. 

No doubt many of the occupations which lie nearest us all 
may become irksome because of their daily occurrence and 
want of variety. Yet these duties skillfully performed make 
our homes bright and comfortable, — badly performed make 
them uncomfortable and gloomy. Let us all bring to them 
our best efforts, and consider none of them insignificant or 
unworthy our time and attention. 

As we must '' eat to live," we should all learn enough of 
the art of cooking to prepare us for emergencies, or to instruct 
others when necessary, even if we are not called upon to 
do this kind of work from day to day ourselves. The word 



26 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

"art" is used advisedly, for in some countries the preparation 
of food has occupied the attention of the people to such an 
extent that it seems as if perfection had been attained. In 
this regard, France takes the lead, and we owe her a debt 
of gratitude for showing us that the plainest and most inex- 
pensive materials may be prepared in such a wholesome, 
well-flavored and even artistic way, as to tempt the most 
fastidious palate and please the most cultivated eye. The 
French convert into delicious dishes the odds and ends which 
in most of our kitchens would be thrown away as useless. 

Essentials in Cooking. — Let us now consider a few 
of the essentials in the art of cooking. First of all is clean- 
liness, nothing can take its place ; cleanliness of the person, 
of the utensils, and in the preparation of food. This rule 
applies to all material for food, but more especially to vege- 
tables, many of which are dug from the ground, and must be 
carefully washed in clear, cold water to cleanse them from 
the sand and impurities of various kinds adhering to them. 
It is frequently necessary to scrape them with a knife, cutting 
away any imperfections in them. 

The second essential is system, or '' regular method." It 
is the power of doing work in such a way that one result 
follows another in a quiet, orderly manner. 

Accuracy is most essential in cooking. When a receipt 
has been proved good, it should be followed exactly. Care- 
lessness in measuring is often the cause of failure. 

Last in this connection is economy, the power of using in 
the most advantageous way not only fresh material, but also 



THE KITCHEN. 2/ 



the food left from a meal. Nothing should be wasted. The 
French use the combs of fowls, which usually with us are 
thrown away, and make of them and the hvers an excellent 
dish. Stale bread may be either toasted or saved for a pud- 
ding, dried crusts put into the oven and then rolled into 
crumbs to be used in cooking ; cold meats may be minced 
or made into croquettes or pates, and indeed prepared in a 
great variety of ways ; fragments of fish nicely seasoned may 
also be warmed over in many ways. These are only a few 
of the many details in which economy may be practiced in 
the kitchen, but it is not possible here to enumerate more. 

General Directions for Plain Cooking. — Dark meats 
are better under-done. White meats should be well cooked. 

Roasts, — Beef should be roasted lo minutes to the lb. 

Mutton " " I o or II "' " " 

Lamb " " 12 " " " 

Veal '' " 14 " " " 

Pork '• " 15 " " " 

A ten-pound turkey will take from one and a half to one 
and three-fourths hours. 

A four or five pound chicken will take from one and a half 
to one and three-fourths hours. 

Boiled Meats, — Put fresh meats into boiling water. Salt 
meats must be washed and put into cold water. 

Mutton should be boiled 10 minutes to the lb. 
Corned beef " " 15 " " " 



28 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

A ten-pound turkey should be boiled about two hours. 

Beef Tongue. Soak over night in cold water, and boil 
slowly until you can run a fork in easily. 

Smoked Ham should be boiled fifteen minutes to the pound. 

Boiled meats intended to be eaten cold should be left in 
the water in which they were boiled, until cold. 

Vef/etahles, — Most vegetables are improved by lying in 
cold water for a while before cooking. Drain them and cook 
them in boiling water, with a little salt. 

Old Potatoes. — Peel and lay in cold water for half an hour. 
Put them in boiling water, salted, and boil rapidly half an 
hour. Drain off the water, and let them dry three or four 
minutes before serving. Late varieties of potatoes like Peach- 
blows, Prince Alberts, etc., are better boiled in cold water. 
When half done throw away the boiling water; fill up with 
cold water, salted, and then boil again. 

New Potatoes. — Wash, scrape and lay them in cold water 
an hour. Cover them with cold water with a little salt, boil 
half an hour. Drain, salt and dry them two or three minutes. 

Cabbage should be boiled in one water half an hour; 
change the water, and boil another half hour. 

Turnips should be boiled an hour or more. Boil until 
very tender. The time required depends upon the age. 

Beets if full grown should be boiled at least two hours. 
Boil until you can run a fork through them easily. Wash but 
never pare or cut them before boiling. 

Spinach is apt to be gritty and must be washed several 
times. Let it lie in cold water at least half an hour. Boil 
fifteen to twenty minutes. 



THE KITCHEN. 29 



Lima Beans, if large, should be boiled one hour ; generally 
from forty to fifty minutes will be enougli. 

Siring Beans. — String them, lay them in cold water with 
a litde salt for fifteen or twenty minutes. Drain them care- 
fully, and put them into a saucepan of boiling water. Boil 
quickly until tender ; twenty minutes if fresh. 

Green Corn and Fresh Pease should be boiled from twenty 
to thirty minutes. 

Asparagus requires twenty to forty minutes according to 
age. 

Carj'ofs. — Wash and scrape thoroughly, and lay in cold 
water for half an hour. Pour in boiling water with a little 
salt, and boil until tender. Large carrots will require nearly 
an hour and a half to cook. 

Sowps, — More use should be made of soups, which are 
very nutritious as well as palatable. Economical soups, often 
very delicious, may be made without stock ; such as black 
bean, tomato and pea soup. Directions for making stock 
may be found in any cookery book. 

Oatmeal, to be well cooked, should if needed for breakfast 
be boiled two hours the day before, and again half an hour 
before serving. 

Hominy should be boiled two hours. Rice should be boiled 
half an hour. 

Coffee, — Use one-half pint of ground coffee to a quart 
of water. 

Mix coffee with white of egg, beaten, and the eggshell ; 



30 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



stir in a cupful of cold water and add boiling water. Boil 
quarter of an hour ; before remo\ing from the fire throw a 
tablespoon of cold water on the coffee and settle it ; strain 
through strainer into coffee-pot which should be previously 
well scalded. If you have no ^gg, wet the coffee witli boil- 
ing water, put it into the kettle, and add the boiling water. 
An eggshell will clear the coffee. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER I. 

Section I. — What is the first thing to do in the kitchen 
in the morning? How is the fire made in the range? What 
kitchen appliances are to be washed every day ? Name the 
chief kitchen utensils. How should the refrigerator be cared 
for ? Describe the weekly kitchen cleaning. How mav kitchen 
odors be prevented? Describe a good cellar. How would you 
keep a cellar in order ? 

Sect. II. — When should one begin to learn marketing? 
What is the way to choose market dealers ? What kind of beef 
is the best ? Describe it. How can you tell good meat from 
bad? What are tlie best pieces for roasting? for boiling? 
for beef tea ? for soup ? What is the " plate piece " good for ? 
Describe good veal. What are the roasting pieces ? What is 
made from the knuckle ? What is said about buying pork ? 
Describe good pork ; good lamb ; good mutton. What are the 
roasting pieces? How do you choose chickens? fish? vege- 
tables ? Name the best vegetables and winter apples. 

Sect. III. — What is a mixed diet? Why is it preferable to 
food of any one kind? What meats are the best? Which 
should be used with caution ? What is the use of fatty foods ? 



THE KITCHEN. %\ 



What is said of fish ? of eggs ? of vegetables ? What are 
cereals ? Why is brown bread better than white ? Name the 
chief grains that are used for food. What are the uses of 
sugar ? of milk ? of iced water ? of tea ? of coffee ? of chocolate ? 
How many meals in a day are desirable ? What are the effects 
of eating at irregular intervals ? How long a time is required 
for digestion ? Why should we not eat again before digestion is 
finished ? Why is it bad to take food before working ? When 
are late suppers permissible ? How would you arrange the meal- 
times ? What are the advantages of soup ? What is said of the 
dessert? of variety in food? of a neat table? 

Sect. W . — What people have set the best example in cook- 
ing? What is said of cleanliness? of system? of accuracy? of 
economy? What time is required to roast the different meats? 
to boil them ? Describe the cooking of different vegetables. 
What good vegetable soups may be made without stock ? 



32 HOUSEHOLD ECOJVOMY. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LAUNDRY. 

SECTION I. — FURNISHING THE LAUNDRY. 

While it is not always possible to have a separate room 
devoted to laundry-work, it is necessary to have those things 
which constitute a laundry and enable the laundress to do 
her work well. We should do the best we can with what we 
have ; but if we can provide all the requisites for facilitating 
good work, we should do so. If we can not have stationary 
tubs with hot and cold water faucets in them, we must do 
with the old-fashioned tubs, and use and take care of them 
as our mothers and grandmothers did before us. They never 
thought of complaining of the " wash " as so many girls of 
to-day do. There is hard work to be done in every house, 
but do it with a light heart and the work will not seem 
heavy. 

Laundry Apparatus, — Let us furnish our laundry, and 
v/e can then talk about the washing and ironing. In the first 
place, have your tubs near an open window, and while you 
are washing, lower the upper sash that the steam may escape, 
and not soften and discolor your ceiling. Three tubs will 
enable you to do your work easily ; one for washing, the sec- 



THE LAUNDRY. 33 



ond for rinsing, and the third for bluing. In selecting a 
wash-board the metal face is to be preferred, for the wooden 
ones soon splinter. A good adjustable wringer is a great 
help. The ironing-table should be about six feet by two 
and a half, covered with a thick blanket, doubled, and over 
that a cotton sheet. Get unbleached heavy sheeting, one 
and one-half yards wide. It does not do to piece an iron- 
ing-sheet, as the surface you iron over must be perfectly 
smooth. A coarse, thick gray or white inexpensive blanket 
will do. Regular " ironing-blankets " come, and they answer 
just as well as a better quality. 

You will need a skirt-board, a bosom-board and a sleeve- 
board. You can not iron skirts and dresses without a skirt- 
board. This must be six feet long, one foot and a half at 
one end, and narrowed down to one foot at the other end. 
Both ends should be rounded and the edges beveled. Cover 
one side with two thicknesses of an old blanket ; tack it very 
smoothly along the sides and ends ; cover the other side with 
strong muslin, and turn in the rear edge and bring it up over 
the side, and tack it so as to cover the rough edges of the 
blanket. Have muslin cases to slip on, and tie them with tape 
at the broad end of the case, which should be hemmed. 

A bosom-board should be made with great care, for a 
shirt-bosom is one of the most difficult things to iron. It 
can be so made as to answer for embroidery and other figured 
articles, as follows : Select well-seasoned pine, free from gum, 
so that it will not warp. The board should be an inch and 
a half thick; eighteen inches wide and about two feet long; 
rounded at one end. Cover one side with three thicknesses 



34 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



of an old woolen blanket. Stretch it very tight, and tack 
it along the sides and ends. Use galvanized tacks ; they will 
not rust. Over the blanket tack two thicknesses of Canton 
flannel, the fleecy side up, then trim off the edges evenly. 
The other side of the board should be covered with five 
thicknesses of Canton flannel ; first put a layer of paste on the 
board, and alternate a layer of Canton flannel with a layer 
of paste, making each one perfectly smooth. Let the flannel 
dry each time before applying the paste again. Lap the last 
piece of Canton flannel over the sides and turn in the rear 
edge and tack it nicely all around. The soft side is to iron 
embroidery or figured articles, and the other hard side for 
shirt-bosoms, collars and cuffs. 

A sleeve-board is made the same as a skirt-board, only 
much smaller; two feet long, five inches at the wide end 
and three at the other. 

A flat-iron should always be kept in a dry place and stood 
on its end ; its weight is seven or eight pounds. A polishing- 
iron has a beveled edge, is of finer quality, and weighs six 
pounds. Before you iron you should try your iron on a 
muslin rubber ; never allow your iron to rest on the sheet, 
but have an iron stand. 

The best clothes-lines are galvanized iron ; they do not 
sag, break or rust. The old-fashioned clothes-pins are the 
most satisfactory ; those that have springs soon get out of 
order. Have a box for your pins, and put them in it as you 
take your clothes down. You should have a pair of covers 
for all your ironing-boards, and table, that you may change 
them every week. 



THE LAUNDRY. 35 



The old-fashioned tubs should be washed out thoroughly 
and put in a damp place, or have some water left in them to 
prevent their shrinking and falling to pieces. 



SECTION U.— WASHING. 

Soaking. — It facilitates washing very much to soak the 
clothes over night. Preparatory to soaking your clothes, 
partly fill your tubs with cold water. Then sort the clothes, 
putting those to be washed in separate piles ; the table linen 
by itself, then the bed linen, the fine clothes, the coarse 
clothes, bedding and towels. The soiled places should be 
soaped before the soaking. 

When morning comes, wring out the clothes in the water 
in which they have been soaked. While doing this, have the 
water heating ; then make hot suds. 

The table linen and fine or starched clothes should be 
washed first and hung out to dry. You should avoid using 
the board for the finest things, for they are too tender to be 
rubbed on the board. 

Scalding, — After your table linen and fine clothes are 
all washed, put them in cold water to come to a scald ; do 
not put them in hot water, for frequently table linen and 
handkerchiefs have stains on them, and boiling in hot water 
would set the stains. After they have been scalded, drain 
them and put them in clear cold water. 



36 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Washing, — Then begin your coarse clothes. Put soap 
on the soiled places and wash them on the board. If there 
are dark places left, put a little more soap on them and put 
them m the boiler, and boil them twenty minutes, no longer; 
for too much boiling makes them tender. 

When the clothes are boiling, turn out the washing water, 
rinse the tub well, and partly fill with lukewarm water; in 
this water you put a little bluing. Then rinse your fine 
clothes in this water, and let them lie in it until you drain 
the coarse clothes from the boiler and put them into clean 
water. Rinse the coarse clothes thoroughly in the cold water, 
and then in the blue water out of which you have first wrung 
the fine clothes. 

Drying, — Leave the coarse clothes in the blue water 
until you have hung out your fine clothes, then wring them 
out and put them out to dry. The starched clothes can then 
be starched and hung out in the sunniest places. When 
clothes become yellow or a bad color from lying unused, or 
from the sick-bed, take them from the hot suds and spread 
them on the grass, or hang them in the sun to bleach for 
two hours, then rinse them thoroughly in two waters. The 
last should be blued. It is never well to leave clothes wrung 
out in coils in baskets waiting to be hung out to dry; it is 
better to leave them in the water until you have space on the 
line, if you have not room for all at once. 

When hanging out clothes, snap them, and pull them even 
as you put them on the hne ; this makes them iron easier. 

The best ultramarine blue comes in small balls about the 



THE LAUNDR\. 37 



size of marbles. Tie six of these in a little flannel bag and 
whirl around in the water until it becomes sky blue. 

Mildew and Stains, — If there should be mildew on 
the clothes, mix soft soap with powdered starch, one table- 
spoon of salt, and the juice of one lemon; lay this on both 
sides, and let the article lie on the grass forty-eight hours ; if 
not removed, do it again until it comes off. 

Acid stains on linen may be removed by using spirits of 
ammonia. Wash the goods in cold water afterwards, or wet 
the cloth in water and burn a sulphur match under the stain ; 
the sulphurous acid gas will remove the stain. Blood stains 
should have some flour paste spread on them, and be placed 
in the sun. 

Flannels and Blatikets. — Flannels should never have 
soap rubbed on them. Wash them in hot suds and then 
rinse them in very hot \vater. 

Blankets do not need washing very often, for they are 
always between the sheet and spread and ought not soon to 
get dirty ; but when they are, or after sickness, especially con- 
tagious diseases, they should be thoroughly cleansed. Never 
rub soap on blankets or rub the blankets, for this fulls them. 
Take one at a time, fill the tub with boiling water, stir two 
tablespoons of powdered borax in it, and sufficient soap to 
make a lather, then put in the blanket and with the clothes- 
stick stir it thoroughly to and fro until it is quite soaked ; 
press it down and leave it there until the water becomes 
cool enough to put the hands in, then squeeze the water 



38 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

through the blanket with the hands. Take it out of this 
water and put it into another tub of boihng water, stir it 
about with the stick, and when cool enough to handle again 
pass it through the wringer; if you have no wringer get some 
one to help you wring it, for it will be heavy. Then carry 
the blanket to the clothes-line, pull it straight and even, the 
edges together, snap it and pin it firmly to the line. Always 
choose a bright, clear day to wash blankets. A windy day is 
better yet. 

Muslina and Lawns should be washed in bran water. 
Boil two quarts of wheat bran in six quarts of water half an 
hour, strain through a thick cloth, add warm water and vv^ash 
the goods. Avoid using soap if possible, and use no starch ; 
rinse carefully in cold water. Calicoes should be washed in 
cold water. Soap and cold water will remove any grease in 
them, and they will retain their color and not shrink. If you 
put a little sugar of lead in the water in which you first wash 
a muslin or calico, and let it remain in the water awhile, the 
colors will remain brilliant. Sugar of lead is poison ; it 
must be labelled " Poison," and great care must be taken in 
using it. 



SECTION m. — STARCHING AND IRONING 

Starch. — In making starch, use a large fire-proof earthen 
saucepan, or a glazed kettle. If you do not happen to 
have one of these and are obliged to use a tin kettle, then 
be sure it is perfectly clean and scoured bright. 



THE LAUNDRY. "39 



To make one quart of starch, dissolve three tablespoons 
of starch in a little cold water ; pour on a quart of boiling 
water, stirring all the while. Before taking it off the fire, 
stir a spermaceti candle around in the starch and add a 
pinch of salt. Boil ten minutes, and strain through a starch- 
bag. A good way to starch cuffs, collars and shirt-bosoms, 
is to put them all together after they are taken from the 
line, and wet the bosoms, collars and cuffs with hot water ; 
wring them very dry and starch while the linen is yet warm ; 
rub the starch in well, and wring in a dry towel, so that all 
the superfluous starch which adheres may be removed. Spread 
each article out smoothly and rub them off with a dry cloth ; 
roll up tightly ; let them remain about three hours before ironing. 

Glossjj SfarcJi, — To make shirt-bosoms, collars and cuffs 
glossy, take two ounces of white gum-arabic, put it in a 
pitcher and pour on it a pint of water; cover it and let it 
stand all niglit. In the morning, filter it carefully from dregs 
into a clean botde, cork it and keep it for use. One table- 
spoonful of the gum water to one pint of starch, and a piece 
of white wax melted in the starch, will give a good gloss, 
when the polishing-iron is used. In summer it is not safe 
to dampen clothes over night, for there is danger of their 
mildewing ; but in winter it may be done with impunity. 
After they are sprinkled they should be folded nicely and 
rolled very tight; cover them with a damp cloth. 

Muslin Dresses should be about as stiff as new muslin ; 
strain the starch into the last rinsing-water. Dark muslins or 



40 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

mourning calicoes should be stiffened with rice-water or gum- 
arabic, as common starch leaves white flakes all over the 
goods when ironed. To make rice starch, boil one pound 
of rice in four quarts of water ; let it boil slowly until it is 
very soft; add boiling water as fast as it boils away, so that 
you will have the four quarts of starch when it is done ; 
stir it frequently while it is boiling. When the rice becomes 
a pulp, pour the whole into a gallon of water and strain 
through a flannel starch-bag. 

Troniuf/, — The secret of nice ironing is a clean, hot flat- 
iron, clean ironing-cloths and well-folded clothes. In ironing 
a shirt, begin at the binding of the neck, then fold the back 
through the middle and iron it ; then iron the sleeves and 
the front of the shirt ; last, iron the bosom on the bosom- 
board ; wet the bosom once with a damp cloth, and iron 
hard and quickly with a poHshing-iron. 

Cuffs and collars are also ironed on the bosom-board as 
the shirt-bosom is. A shirt-collar should be ironed lightly 
first on the wrong side, then turn it over and iron hard on 
the right, until there is a high polish and it is perfectly dry. 
In ironing a skirt, slip it over the skirt-board ; have the 
clothes-basket under the board so that the skirt may not 
touch the floor. Iron the right side. 

Fringed towels and napkins should be snapped when damp 
and a fringe-comb used carefully to make the fringe even ; if 
used roughly it will .soon destroy the fringe. If the iron 
becomes rough and the starch adheres to it, rub a piece of 
yellow beeswax in a cloth over the iron and then rub the 
iron on the muslin rubber. 



THE LAuNDkV. 4 1 



Riisti/ Irons. — If the irons should become rusty, rub 
them with very fme emery dust and sweet oil ; if you can not 
make them smooth send lliem to tlie factory and have them 
ground smooth. A good hiundress will not allow her irons 
to get into a state requiring this grinding. 

A good iron-holder is as necessary as any thing else ; do 
not be satisfied with a bundle of old rags. Old stockings 
covered with ticking make the best holders. Ingrain carpet 
covered with ticking is also very good. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER II. 

Section I. — What is said about the wasliing-tubs ? Describe 
the ironing-table ; the skirt-board ; the bosom-board ; the sleeve- 
board. What are the best clothes-lines ? the best clothes-pins.^ 

Sect. II. — W^iat is said about soaking tlie clothes.^ How 
are they to be scalded.^ In what order is the rinsing and wash- 
ing to be done.^ In what order the drying? How may mildew 
stains be removed ? Describe the washing of flannels, blankets, 
muslins, and lawns. 

Sect. III. — How would you make a quart of starch? In 
what way are shirt-fronts, collars, and cuffs to be made glossy ? 
How do you starch a muslin dress ? What is necessary for nice 
ironing? How may rusty irons be cleansed? 



42 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



CHAPTER III. 
THE DINING-ROOM. 

SECTION I. — ARRANGEMENT OF THE DINING-ROOM. 

General Suf/ffestions* — A dining-room should be made 
as attractive as possible, as much of our happiness depends 
upon the food we eat and our manner of eating it. A 
gloomy, ill-ventilated room will make the most elaborate din- 
ner unsatisfactory ; while a plain meal is rendered almost a 
feast by being well served in a cheery room. 

Table conversation should be bright and entertaining. Put 
aside the worries of life for a little space, and food will be 
more palatable and more easily digested. The family table 
should be socially as well as substantially attractive. 

Three things are important in ordering a dining-room : 
I St, Abundance of light and air. 2d, Order and system. 
3d, Extreme neatness. 

Liffht and Air, — To secure an abundance of light and 
air, the dining-room should if possible be located where the 
sun shines directly into it a part of the day. If this can not 
be, let in the best light to be had. Do not draw the shades 
or darken a dining-room except in the extreme heat of 
summer, and even then let some light in at meal-time. 



THE DINING-ROOM. 43 



Air the room thoroughly each morning, and open the 
windows for a few moments after each meal to remove the 
smell of food. Avoid either a chilly or an overheated room. 
Draughts are particularly undesirable and may be regulated by 
screens before doors which must be opened. In winter, an 
open fire aids in ventilation as well as increases the cheerful 
effect of the room. W'ell-cared-for plants in the windows 
and flowers when convenient on the table add brightness and 
beauty to its appearance. 

Order and System. — The benefits of " a place for 
every thing, and every thing in its place," are never more 
clearly seen than in the care of a dining-room, where the 
variety and details of the work are so great. Every thing in 
the room on or in the sideboard and closets should have its 
own place, and be found there, so that no time be lost in 
getting what is wanted for use. 

Places for Tfthtr/s. —The general furnishing of a dining- 
room should include, besides the dining-table and chairs, a 
sideboard and side-table. On the sideboard may be arranged 
the larger pieces of silver and ornamental dishes of china 
and glass. The inside should be used for the ordinary 
glasses, silver and cudery. For the small silver there should 
be a lined basket with divisions for the different sizes of 
spoons and forks, which should be kept distinct, and laid in 
the basket with the handles all one way. A knife-box should 
be used for the cudery with the same care as to handles and 
sizes. The drawers of the sideboard are for the linen. The 



44 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

table-cloths and napkins should be carefully sorted when 
returned from the laundry, and those of the same size and 
pattern kept m piles and used together. Dinner napkins are 
usually larger than those used for breakfast, and fancy lunch 
and tea cloths come with napkins to match which should only 
be used together. Doilies are of different sizes ; they should 
be put under the finger-bowls, and on the dishes on whicli 
cake, ices, nuts, etc., are served. The linen in use shoulcl 
if possible be kept separate from that which is perfectly 
clean. 

The side-table is for the extra plates and dishes needed in 
serving a meal, the bread-plate and water-pitcher. 

JVeatuess. — Extreme neatness is nowhere more necessary 
than in the care of the dining-room and service of food ; for 
a ciisregard of it will very effectually take away the appetite. 
The dining-room should be swept daily, the rugs and drapery 
well shaken, and every thing thoroughly dusted. At least 
weekly the windows, mirrors, knobs and brasses should be 
cleaned as directed in the section on the bedroom. After 
each meal the carpet around the table should be brushed with 
whisk-broom and dust-pan to gather the crumbs which have 
fallen. 

The chairs should always be put back before the table is 
cleared, the table wiped off before the cover is put on, and 
the room left in perfect order. 

Dish-washing should not as a rule be done in the dining- 
room ; where there is no butler's pantry, the soiled dishes 
should be taken to the kitchen. 



THE DINING-ROOM. 



45 



In no case should an uncleared table be allowed to stand 
while other work is being done, and only when it is positively 
necessary should the dishes be left without being immediately 
washed. When they have to wait they should be gathered 
and arranged ready for washing. 

The inside of the sideboard, the drawers and pantry-shelves 
must be wiped off frequently, and covered with white paper 
which should be often renewed. Every thing on the shelves 
should be clean and ready for use. Never put a dish away 
dirty. 

ranti'ff atid Closets. — Most modern houses have a 
small room opening out of the dining-room and communicat- 
ing with the kitchen, which is called the butler's pantry; 
and where there is no such convenience, closets in the dining- 
room or near by take its place. In this pantry should be 
found every thing needed in the care of a dining-room; 
china and glass closets, arrangements for washing dishes, 
cleaning silver and knives, and such brooms, brushes, etc., as 
are necessary to proper doing of the work. 

The china and glass closets should be arranged with plates, 
cups and saucers, dishes, etc., of a kind and size together; 
those in daily use being placed nearest at hand. Taste as 
well as convenience should be consulted in the arrangement 
of the shelves, and every thing should be taken out of the 
closets frequently, the shelves wiped off and re-papered, and 
the dishes carefully wiped or washed if at all dusty. 

One closet should be devoted to brooms of different kinds, 
dust-pan, feather and cloth dusters and chamois cloths, each 



46 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

having its own nail. On a shelf in the same closet may be 
kept the necessary articles for cleaning silver, knives, etc. 
A drawer for aprons, and drawers for the extra linen are 
desirable. 

For dish-washing should be provided two dish-pans, unless 
there is a stationary sink ; a tray on which to drain dishes, 
a mop for the pitchers and cups, dish cloths and towels both 
coarse and fine in abundance. These should have their own 
drawer, but must never be folded up damp or dirty. 

The dumb waiter which usually forms the communication 
with the kitchen should be inclosed and the door kept shut 
to prevent the odor of cooking. Its shelves should be cov- 
ered with oil-cloth, and carefully washed and dried after each 
meal, as they are apt to become sticky and greasy. 



SECTION IL— TABLE SERVICE. 

Setting the Table. — The dining-room being well aired 
and in good order, the table should be set a short time 
before the meal is served. The breakfast table should never 
be set the night before, as more or less dust is sure to 
accumulate. 

Table linen should be spodessly white and changed fre- 
quently to keep it so. A piece of heavy Canton flannel put 
on smoothly under the table-cloth prevents hot dishes from 
injuring the table, besides improving the appearance of the 
linen. The table-cloth must be spread evenly without wrinkles, 
the center fold being on the right side exactly in the middle of 



THE DINING-ROOM. 47 



the long way of the table. Tray cloths under the tea or 
coffee service and the meat platter prevent the spotting of 
the cloth, and are easily removed. Mats when used should 
be put on exacdy straight and with regularity. Napkins 
should be laid directly in front of each plate. They must 
be often changed, and great care taken that to each person 
is given the one that he used before; napkin-rings are of 
use for this purpose. Fresh napkins should always be given 
to guests. 

Knives and forks, glasses, in fact all small articles, should 
be carried to or from sideboard or closet on a tray; never 
in the hand. Great care should be taken in putting each 
thing on the table exactly even, to give an orderly appearance 
to the whole. 

At each place on the right hand, put the knife, with the 
edge toward the plate ; beyond that the spoon for soup, and 
in front of both the glass ; at the left, the fork with the tines 
turned up, a butter plate, and for dinner a piece of bread cut 
very thick. In front of the gentleman should be put the 
carving knife and fork ; and large spoons near dishes to be 
served. The coffee or tea service should be arranged in a 
semi-circle in front of the lady ; the coffee or tea pot being on 
the extreme right with the handles turned toward the lady, 
and the cups and saucers at the extreme left. Be sure that 
the sugar bowl is filled before putting it on the table. 

A caster if used is placed in the center. Salts and peppers, 
unless one for each place is used, should be put at the cor- 
ners within easy reach. They should always be kept full, and 
ready for use. Butter balls are made with spadles dipped in 



4^ I/O tS£ HOLD ECOXOMY. 



cold water; they should be made some time before needed, 
and kept in the refrigerator. They may be in various shapes, 
and one placed on each butter plate just before the meal, or 
passed around in the butter dish. 

All the plates and dishes used for breakfast and dinner 
should be warmed excepting those used for salads and des- 
sert. Great care must be used not to crack them by o\er- 
heating. The extra plates, knives, forks and spoons needed 
should be arranged on the side-table. The finger bowls with 
doilies under them are to be half filled with water, to which 
a little lemon or other extract may be added. The bread- 
plate and water-pitcher should be filled and ready on the side- 
table. Glasses should never be more than three quarters full. 
It is better to take them on the tray when filHng to avoid 
spilling the water. The ice should be cracked, and may be 
put in each glass or in the ice-pitcher. Glasses should be 
filled just before or just after the family are seated, and 
again as often as necessary during the meal without any 
questions. 

I>inner Courses, — A simple dinner consists of three 
courses : soup, meat and vegetables, dessert and fruit. 
Soup may be sened from the side-table or placed in front 
of the lady. The meat platter should be put before the 
gentleman, and brought in after the covered dishes which 
may be arranged on the table or kept on the side-table 
according to taste. The fmit dish should stand in the mid- 
dle of the table during dinner, and jellies, pickles, confec- 
tions, etc., with flowers when convenient, may find place there 



THE DIXING-ROOM. 49 

as well. Chairs should be placed just before the meal is 
announced. 

Waitinif on the Table, — A meal should be announced 
to the lady in some such way as this : " Dinner is served," or 
" Breakfast is on the table." The place of the waitress is 
generally behind the lady, tray in hand ; she should be ready 
to see and quick to supply the wants of every one. While 
the meat is being served, she stands at the left of the gentle- 
man to receive and pass the plates on her tray. 

Place things on the table at the right, but hand plates 
and dishes to the left of each person. Soup, clean plates 
and finger bowls should always be set down before people at 
their right hand ; other things should be passed to the left, 
so that they can help themselves. Vegetables, etc., should 
be passed to each one in succession, beginning at the right 
hand of the liost and serving him the last. Co\-ers should be 
removed with the riglit liand and quickly reversed to prevent 
the moisture from dripping. 

Remove soiled plates one in each hand. Never pile them 
up. Before serving dessert, take every thing from the table 
except the fruit dish and glasses : collect with a fork and a 
plate very large pieces of bread ; then, with a crumb knife or 
brush and tray, brush the table, standing at the left of each 
person in so doing. Always replenish the glasses at this 
time. Coffee at dinner is served last, in small cups, with 
sugar only, and from the side-table. 

There are few absolute rules for table-setting and serving. 
We describe one way, while there may be others equally good. 



50 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Suggestions to the Waitress, — A person waiting on the 
table or door should always be scrupulously neat in her per- 
son and clothing. She should have long white aprons to 
wear while waiting at table or going to the door, and colored 
ones to use while doing her work. She sliould move quickly 
but gently, economizing time and strength by a little fore- 
thought, and always going the shortest way around the table. 
She must never speak unless spoken to, and should avoid 
listening to the conversation of those she is serving. In 
case of accident or mistake, she must not get excited or try 
to explain, but quietly repair or remove traces of damage. 

Attending the Door, — In going to the door, the wait- 
ress should be careful not to delay unnecessarily. She must 
answ^er respectfully any inquiries, and remember exactly any 
messages given to her. In showing a lady or gendeman into 
the parlor, she should open the door, and then step back to 
allow the person to precede her. She must use great discre- 
tion in admittini^r strans:ers to the house. 



SECTION III. — THE CARE OF CHINA, GLASS AND SILVER. 

Clearing the Table, — When the family have left the 
room, set back the chairs to give free access to the table. 
Gather the silver in a deep tin dish, and pour hot water over 
it. Carefully collect all the dirty dishes, and arrange them 
for washing. Put away the salts, peppers, sugar-bowl, etc., 
first seeing whether they need to be filled. Gather up the 



THE DINING-ROOM. 51 



napkins, putting those to be used again in the drawer appro- 
priated to them, and taking the soiled ones to the hamper or 
laundry. Brush the table-cloth, and carefully fold in its 
creases ; also the Canton flannel, and put both in the drawer 
where they are kept ; wipe off the table before putting on 
the table-cover ; air the room, dust it and put every thing in 
its own place. 

The nish Washinf/. — Dishes should be arranged for 
washing and washed in the following order: Glasses, silver, 
cups and saucers, plates and other dishes. Always wash the 
cleanest things first. The glasses and silver do not usually 
require soap if quickly washed in very hot water and dried 
immediately. It is best to wash only a few at a time to 
prevent their cooling. For all china, hot suds should be used 
with hot water for rinsing. Two pans are necessary, and 
both suds and water must be changed as soon as they be- 
come cool or dirty. An easy way to make suds is to take a 
piece of soap upon a fork and stir it briskly in the water. 
A tray or wooden frame is required on which to drain dishes 
before wiping. Greasy plates must always be scraped before 
washing. The bone handles of knives must never be put in 
the water, but wiped off carefully ; letting them soak loosens 
them. 

Great care must be used in washing china and glass, as 
the latter is easily broken, and china, especially if of fine 
quality, becomes chipped and cracked, taking away its beauty 
if not its usefulness. To avoid this do not use too hot 
water in cold weather, put only a few pieces in the water at 



52 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



a time, and if the sink is surrounded by marble, be careful 
not to knock the dishes against it or. together; and put a 
towel on the marble slab before standing them on it. Soft 
dish-cloths and a mop for the inside of pitchers and cups are 
of service ; but great care must be taken that these are kept 
sweet by being well washed, and hung up each time they are 
used. Towels for drying dishes are of two kinds : fine ones 
of checked linen for the glass, silver and fine china ; and 
coarser ones of crash for the ordinary dishes. There should 
be an abundance of both, as clean dry towels are very im- 
portant in making glass and china shine as they should do. 
Glasses should be clear and free from lint, which may be easily 
seen if they are held to the light. After wiping always set a 
dish or glass down with the towel to avoid finger marks. 

When the dishes are all washed, they should at once be 
put in their own places in the closet. The towels, dish-cloths 
and mop must then be rinsed out and hung up to dry ; and 
every few days they must be thoroughly washed and boiled^ 
and properly ironed. The dish-pans should be always well 
washed and dried ; and scoured with soap and sand, or sapolio 
weekly. Every thing in the pantry should be put in perfect 
order before leaving it to do other work. 

Steel knife-blades should be cleaned once a day with Bath- 
brick, and polished on a knife-board. The carving-knife 
should be kept well-sharpened, and the knife box often 
emptied and wiped out. 

Cleaning Silver. — If silver is washed after each use in 
very hot water with sometimes a little ammonia in it, it will 



THE DINING-ROOM. 53 

be bright and shining for a long time without other cleaning. 
Too much rubbing dulls the finest silver, and wears off that 
which is only plate. When a more thorough cleaning is 
necessary, use Spanish wliiting moistened and applied with 
soft flannel and silver brush ; then polish with dry whiting and 
chamois cloths. Some people use silver soap, and other 
patent apphances, but the whiting is safest. 

The silver basket must be thoroughly brushed before the 
silver is put back. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER III. 

Section I. — Why ought the dining-room to be attractive? 
Mention some things that are important in the dining-room. 
What is said of order and system.? Describe the uses of the 
sideboard and side-table. What is said about the table-linen and 
the places for keeping it ? How is the dining-room to be put in 
order? Describe the use and the care of the butler's pantry. 
How are the closets for china, for glass and for brooms to be 
arranged ? What is said about the dumb waiter 1 

Sect. II. — Describe the setting of the table. Where should 
the waitress stand ? On which side should dishes be set down ? 
On which side handed to the sitter at table ? Mention other 
duties of the waitress. How should tlie door be attended ? 

Sect. III. — Describe the clearing of the table. In what 
order should the different kind of dishes be washed ? What 
things are needed for dish-washing ? How do you make soap- 
suds ? In cold weather, what precaution is needed in washing 
china and glass ? How do you avoid leaving iinger-marks on 
glass ? How are knife blades and handles to be cleaned ? 
Describe the cleanino; of silver. 



54 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CHAMBER-WORK. 

SECTION l.-THB CARE OF THE BEDROOM. 

Chamber-work to be done well and without loss of time 
requires great thoroughness and system. The following is a 
list of 

Articles Needed* — Broom, Whisk brooms, Dustpan, Fur- 
niture brush, Hair broom, Hair brush. Feather dusters, long 
and short, Cloth dusters. Canton flannel cleaning cloths, 
Cloths for washing and drying bowl. Soap dish, Toothbrush 
stand or mug. Cloths distinctly marked for washing and dry- 
ing other crockery (these cloths must be exclusively kept for 
this purpose), Pail for waste water. Pail for washing crockery. 
Box containing black lead, Brushes for polishing grates and 
whiting, Chamois, Scuttle for ashes. Fire shovel. Scrubbing 
brushes, Cloths of paper muslin which have been boiled and 
thus made soft and lintless. A Rattan for beating dust from 
furniture is very useful, but this can be done with the flat side 
of a whisk broom, if rattan is not conveniently to be had. 

Order of the Work, — In the care of the bedroom, the 
first thing to be done in the morning is to open the shutters 
and windows, and put the bed-clothes to air. 



CHA MBER- WORK. 



55 



Take off the pillow and bolster, shake them well and put 
them to air. Place two chairs facing each other with the 
seats nearly touching. Remove the spread, blankets and 
sheets, folding them twice as they are taken from the bed. 
Lay them over the backs of the chairs so that they may not 
touch the floor, and near enough the window to have the air 
blow through them; but not so as to show from the street. 
Turn the mattress over the foot of the bed. 

Pick up soiled sheets and towels, and put them in the 
basket or bag kept for this purpose. If the towels or any 
other articles are damp, dry them carefully before putting 
them in the basket, otherwise they will mildew. 

Empty the waste water, and bring a pail with clean, hot 
suds. Wash the bowl and marble stand, then the mug, soap 
dish and brush stand. The stationary basin must be thor- 
oughly washed every morning in this way with hot suds, other- 
wise the hard water and soap will settle in a sort of black 
scum on it. If this occurs, it should be washed with soda, or 
borax, and water. Place clean towels on the rack. If basins 
or pitchers are used, these must also be washed. Even clean 
water standing will cause a black scum to settle in pitchers 
or pails, which must therefore be carefully washed. Fill the 
pitchers with water. 

Remove ashes and make the fire, for which directions are 
given in the chapter on Fires and Grates. 

Making the Bed, — After the fire is kindled and the 
hearth washed up, make the bed, which will probably be 
sufficiently aired by this time. '' Turn the mattress every day 



56 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



from end to end and from side to side." If there is a 
feather bed it must be carefully shaken, otherwise it will be- 
come hard and lumpy. If the under bed is of loose straw, 
not tufted, the straw should be stirred every morning that it 
may be smooth. 

The under sheet is put on right side up, and is tucked in 
under the upper mattress, that it may not pull down with the 
other clodies when the bed is opened for the night. The top 
of the sheet, which is readily distinguished by a broad hem, 
is always put at the head of the bed. The upper sheet is 
put on right side down that the two right sides of the sheets 
may come together, and the right side of the upper sheet 
fold over the blankets. The upper sheet must be carefully 
tucked in at the foot of the bed that it may not pull up. 
It should come up about a quarter of a yard beyond the 
blankets over wliich it is folded. If the blankets are too 
narrow for a double bed, the upper one may be laid from 
side to side instead of lengthwise. The spread is put on 
over the blankets and sheets, and must be tucked in very 
tight that the bed may be perfectly smooth. If the spread 
is put on in this way, it covers the sheet after it has become 
tumbled, and it is easily removed at night, if desired. Some 
prefer to have the sheet folded over tlie spread as well as 
over the blanket. This is tlie more convenient way, if the 
spread is not removed at night. All the bed-clothes except 
the under sheet should be tucked in at the sides of the bed. 

The bolster must be laid on rather fiat, that the pillows 
may lie nicely on it. 

Many use shams on the pillows during the day. 



CHA MBER- WORK. 5 7 

Cleaning the Bedroom, — After the bed is made in the 
morning all the furniture in the room must be carefully dusted, 
as well as the ornaments and books. The window-sills must 
also be dusted. Remove finger marks from paint or mirrors 
with cloth wrung out in hot water. Then the room must be 
brushed, either with the whisk broom and dustpan, or with a 
carpet sweeper, which saves much dust. 

Empty the scrap basket and the hair bag. The contents 
of the latter should be burned, and never allowed to get into 
any of the waste pipes, which hair very soon clogs. 

Be careful to see that the bedroom is thoroughly aired, as 
this is most important to good health. 

In arranging a room for the night, the shades should be 
drawn down, the shutters closed, and gas lighted, the soiled 
clothes put in the hamper as in the morning, and all articles 
used in dressing for dinner returned to their places. The 
waste water must be removed, and pitchers, if used, again 
filled with water. If night pillows are used, remove the day 
pillows and shams ; if the same pillows as during the day, 
take off the shams and fold them carefully in their creases. 
Lay them where they will not get tumbled. Some remove 
the white spread at night and replace it with a colored spread 
or comforter. If there is no other spread for use at night leave 
on the white spread to protect the blankets, which are never 
so nice after they have been washed, while the spread can be 
very easily done up. Open the bed, folding it down for one 
or two people as required. Lay night clothes and wrapper 
on the bed, and place slippers by it. The bed should stand so 
that no bright light can fall upon the eyes of the sleeper. 



58 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



SECTION IL — FIRES AND GRATES. 

Building the Grate Fire. — The first thing to be done 
before making a new fire is to remove the ashes from the 
grate and ash-pan. Shake down the ashes through the bars 
of the grate with the poker, then take them from the pan with 
the fire shovel and put them in the scuttle. If there is a 
blower to the grate put it up while this is being done to 
avoid dust. Take out the ash-pan and brush up carefully 
underneath it. Cinders too large to go through the bars 
may be lifted from the grate. 

To make a fire, twist up old newspapers in loose rolls and 
place at the bottom of the grate ; lay kindlings crosswise on 
the paper that the air may get through. This is the most 
important thing to observe in making a fire, as without a 
good draught no fire can burn. Put coal on top of the 
kindlings ; if hard coal is used, putting it on with the shovel ; 
then put on the blower until the coal is well caught. When 
wood or soft coal is used, a blower is not necessary. Light 
the fire from below, striking the match on the safe or on a 
piece of sandpaper ; never on the wall, or where it will leave 
a mark. Matches are manufactured by dipping little pieces 
of pine wood into a preparation of phosphorus which will 
ignite when rubbed on a rough surface. Phosphorus is very 
poisonous, and care must be taken never to put a match in 
the mouth. After lighting a match, never throw it on the 
floor, as it might set fire to something, and it also makes a 
room look untidy. See that the match safes are kept filled 
and free from burnt matches. 



CHA MBER- WORK. 5 9 



Kerose}t€, — Never use kerosene or any other explosive 
material to light a fire, as it frequently occasions serious 
injury to those foolish enough to do so. The newspapers 
give almost daily accounts of deaths resulting from this use 
of kerosene in kindling a fire. 

The Fipst Fire of the Season, — When this, or a fire 
in a fire-place not used regularly is made, it is well to hold 
a piece of blazing paper up the chimney that the cold air 
may be expelled, which otherwise might beat the smoke down 
into the room. Care must "be taken not to light too much 
paper at once lest the chimney catch fire. 

Wood Fires m a grate are made in the same way as a 
coal fire. When an open hearth with andirons is used, the 
ashes should not all be taken away, as wood burns better over 
a bed of ashes. A very good way of building a fire on 
andirons is to have one large log for the back log, another 
for a front log ; between the two lay loose rolls of paper, 
then a row of kindlings resting on both logs and over the 
paper. One or two other sticks may be laid on top of the 
kindlings. Many build a wood fire on andirons in just the 
some way as the coal and wood fires in grates. Be careful to 
put on the wood with the bark side down. 

In the weekly cleaning rub the bars of the grate, and the 
pan, with a brush dipped in black lead ; then polish well 
with the other end of the brush. This, of course, is only 
in case the grate is not nickel plated, or after the plate 
has been so injured by the fire that it can not be made 
bright. 



60 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Nickel or silver plating about the grate must be cleaned 
once a week. 



SECTION III. — BATHROOM AND CLOSETS. 

The Bathroom should be put in order daily if used. 
The bath-tub must be washed out with hot suds and dried 
with a soft cloth. Do not use sand or any thing rough, as it 
will destroy the burnishing on the tin. If this daily washing 
and polishing is carefully done, the tub will remain for years 
almost as bright as new. 

Dust the chairs and woodwork in the bathroom, remove 
soiled towels and see that clean ones replace them. Wash 
out the soap dish and other crockery if there be any, and see 
that there is always soap in the dish. 

The bathroom should be swept once a week if carpeted ; 
if an oilcloth is on the floor it should be washed with clear, 
cold water. 

Water Closet, — It is absolutely essential that this closet 
be kept in perfect cleanliness and order. The bowl and pan 
of the seat must be frequently scrubbed out with a whisk 
broom kept exclusively for this purpose. The wood-work 
must be wiped with a damp cloth, then dried. This may 
be done with turpentine, beeswax and a little carbolic acid. 
Great care must be taken not to allow any thing, such as cloths, 
matches or hair, to get into the pipes and clog them. 

The closet should if possible have a window in it, or at 
least a well going to the roof of the house. It must be 



CHAMBER- WORK. 6 1 

thoroughly aired. The pipes in this closet must be well 
trapped and the traps thoroughly soldered into the waste- 
pipes, not merely put in loosely as is sometimes the case. It 
is best to have a ventilating-shaft to the roof to carry off 
foul air and gases. 

Bedroom Closets, — The floors of bedroom closets if 
of wood or covered with oilcloth should be washed up each 
week with a cloth and cold water, not scrubbed with brush 
and soap. 

The clothes in these closets should always be hung on 
the hooks, each suit of clothes or dress by itself. They 
should be carefully brushed before they are put in the closet. 
Hang them up by a tape fastened in them for the purpose 
or by the bands, otherwise they will become wrinkled. 

Shoes and slippers should be kept either in a shoe-bag, or 
on a shelf a little raised from the floor, that they may be 
protected from dust. 

Closet shelves should be covered with paper which can be 
changed when soiled. A special place for strings and paper 
should be set apart. Shawls should be folded and laid on a 
shelf or in a drawer, and not hung up. Medicines and reme- 
dies to be used in accidents should be kept on a shelf or in 
a cupboard by themselves, that they may be readily reached in 
an emergency. All medicine phials should be clearly labeled. 
Put those that may contain poisons upon a high shelf. 

Slop Closet, — In the slop closet the greatest care is 
necessary to keep every thing sweet and clean. Hot water 



62 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

must be poured down the sink every day ; it is well to keep 
a little scrubbing-brush for use in the closet, and to scrub 
the sink daily with sapolio and water. Once a week pour 
down copperas water. 

Bfoofn Closet. — In this closet are kept all articles used 
in chamberwork. The broom and hair brush should be hung 
on nails. The feather duster should always have a cover of 
paper muslin or other cloth to keep the feathers from break- 
ing. The dust-pan must never be put away with dust in it. 
The cloth dusters and cleaning cloths should go through the 
wash every week. 

Coal, wood, and kindlings are sometimes kept in this 
closet. Care must be taken not to allow the supply to be 
exhausted. It is well to have old newspapers for lighting 
the fires kept here also. 

Linen Closet. — Cover the shelves of the hnen closet 
with white paper. Sheets of the same size and kind should 
be kept in the same pile. Be careful to have those with 
the same mark, for instance of the year, together. Pillow cases 
must be kept in pairs, being usually so marked, and should 
be so used on the beds. Bolster cases should be kept in a 
pile by themselves. 

Muslin sheets must be kept separate from the linen, as 
must also muslin pillow cases and bolster cases. 

Blankets not in use should be laid in pairs and covered 
with a clean sheet to keep them from dust. Spreads should 
be folded wrong side out. The shams can be laid in a 



CHA MB ER- WORK. 63 



drawer, if there is one in the Hnen closet, otherwise on a 
shelf. 

Towels should be arranged in smooth piles, so as not to be 
tumbled. The clean linen from the wash should be put at 
the bottom of whichever pile the various articles belong to, 
that the linen may be used equally. 

If the finer table linen is kept up stairs, the table-cloths 
must be laid where they are perfectly smooth. The napkins 
should be kept in sets and carefully counted. The sorting 
of the hnen is the most important thing in the care of the 
linen closet. 

Coat Closet. — There is nothing particular to be said of 
the care of this closet, which is in most respects like bed- 
room closets. The coats and hats should be well brushed 
before they are hung up, and buttons, if needed, sewed on. 



SECTION IV. — HALLS AND STAIRS. 

Floors, — A carpeted hall should be thoroughly swept 
twice a week. The woodwork, chairs, tables and other furni- 
ture should be dusted every day. 

A marble hall should be swept every day. Once a week, 
or oftener if needed, it should be washed with laundry soap 
and water with a little soda in it. It can be most easily 
done with a sponge, and it should be carefully dried with a 
Canton flannel cloth. When very dirty or rough, it should 
be rubbed with a piece of pumice stone. 



64 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Hard wood floors should also be swept every day with a 
hair broom. They should be wiped up once a week with cold 
water and a little Castile soap, mixed with a small amount of 
linseed or sweet oil. This should be done with flannel, and 
the floor thoroughly dried with Canton flannel cloth. Care 
must be taken to wring out the flannel well before wiping 
the floor: it is not well to use much water on these floors. 

A wood carpet should be brushed every day with a hair 
broom. Once a week it should be wiped up with cloth 
dipped in clear, cold water and wrung out almost dry, then 
rubbed with dry cloth. For occasional polishing, see du-ections 
in the chapter on House-cleaning. 

Oil-cloth should be washed with cold water. No soap 
should be used. A little sweet milk in the water improves the 
appearance of the oil-cloth wonderfully. Use cloths for wash- 
ing and drying oil-cloths, as scrubbing brushes injure them. 

Pine floors should be scrubbed with cold water and sand. 

Hugs and Mats. — All rugs and pieces of carpet in the 
halls must be thoroughly shaken. 

If cocoa matting is used in the halls it should be shaken 
once a week in the yard, if possible. 

The hat-tree must be carefully dusted, the mirror washed, 
and the drawer kept in order. 

Stairs, — Hard wood stairs must be wiped with a cloth or 
brushed with a hair brush every day, holding the dust-pan 
under each step. The stairs should be washed once a week 
with cold water, Castile soap and linseed or sweet oil, like 



CHA MBEK- WORK. 6 5 



hard wood floors. Each round of the banisters, the baUis- 
trade and other wood-work must be dusted carefully every 
day. 

Brush carpeted stairs with a whisk broom every day, hold- 
ing the dust'i^an under each stair. The wood-work at the 
sides of the carpet must be wiped with a cloth or brushed 
with a hair brush. Be sure that this is carefully done, as dust 
is very apt to settle on the stairs. 

Pine stairs should be swept with a hair brush or broom ; 
when they need it, they should be scrubbed with cold water 
and sand. 

Stair-Hods, — If there are stair-rods they should be 
cleaned as often as they need it ; plated and brass ones once 
a week, bronze and wooden ones probably not oftener than 
twice a year. 

The plated rods should be cleaned with whiting, and 
polished with chamois. 

The brass rods should be cleaned with rotten stone and 
sweet oil. This may be rubbed off with soft newspaper, they 
should then be polished with dry rotten-stone and soft cloth. 
Harris's or Oakey's Wellington Brass Polish will greatly 
diminish the labor of cleaning brasses. 

Bronze rods should be cleaned with turpentine on cotton, 
and wooden rods like hard wood furniture. 



66 HO USE HOLD ECONOM J '. 



OUESTIOiNS ON CHAPTER IV. 

Section I. — What articles are needed tor chamber-work? 
What is the order to be followed in doing it? Describe making 
the bed. Wliat remains to be done after this in the bedroom ? 
How is it to be arranged for the night ? How should the bed 
stand with respect to light? 

Sect. \\. — Describe the way to make a tire in the grate. Would 
you use kercsene in lighting a lire ? Why not ? What precau- 
tion should be taken in making the lirst fire of the season ? 
How should a wood fire be made ? 

Sect. III. — Describe the care of Ihe bathroom. How should 
the bath-tub be washed? the closet-pan? the wood-work? What 
is to be done to keep the bedroom closets in order? Where are 
medicines to be kept ? What precaution is needed with those 
that are poisonous ? Describe the care of the slop-closet ; of 
the broom-closet ; of the linen closet. What is the most impor- 
tant point in the care of the linen closet? What is said about 
the coal closet ? 

Sect. \\. — How often should a carpeted hall be swept? A 
marble hall ? A hard wood floor ? A wood carpet ? Describe 
the way to wash wooden floors ; marble floors ; oil-cloths. What 
must be done with rugs and mats ? What is the way to clean 
hard wood stairs ? Carpeted stairs ? Pine stairs ? Stair-rods 
of different kinds ? 



HOUSE-CLEANING. 6j 



CHAPTER V. 

HOUSE-CLEANING. 

SECTION h-THE WEEKLY CLEANING. 

Care of the Bed, — In the weekly cleaning, if there is a 
heavy spring bed under the mattress, the sides of the bedstead 
a5 far as can be reached should be dusted. The spring bed 
should be removed at least twice a year, and the slats and 
inside of the bedstead carefully washed with suds. If there 
are only straw under-beds, this may be done once a month. 

On the weekly cleaning day, clean linen should be put on 
the bed, or as much oftener as that in use becomes soiled 
or greatly tumbled. It is usual in changing the sheets to 
use the upper sheet as under one and to put on the clean 
one as the upper sheet. 

Bolster and pillow cases should be changed at least once 
a week. If the shams are tumbled they should be pressed. 

Dustinff. — After the bed is made, and ashes, wash-water 
and soiled clothes have been removed, dust all the ornaments, 
and lay them on the bed unless they are too heavy to move. 
The clock should never be disturbed. Be careful to notice 
where each thing belongs, that it may be returned to its own 
place. Cover the bed with a caUco dusting-sheet. 



68 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



Dust the book shelves, and if they are open cover them 
also. Dust all the chairs with a cloth duster, rubbing the 
wood-work well. Beat the dust from the upholstered parts 
with a rattan or whisk broom ; if covered with reps or ordi- 
nary material brush well with a whisk broom ; if of satin, rub 
carefully with a soft cloth. If the furniture is covered with 
rich or delicate material it should not be beaten. If the 
furniture is tufted especial care must be taken to remove all 
dust from the tufting. After dusting, remove small pieces of 
furniture to the hall or adjoining room, and cover the lounge 
with a dustinff-sheet. 



'to 



Siveeping, — Before beginning to sweep, pull up the 
shades, so as to have a strong light, shake tlie curtains, 
lightly wiping them with soft cloth to remove dust, and fas- 
ten them up from the floor while sweeping. Remove rugs 
and pieces of carpet which should be shaken. Brush the 
window sills and blinds with the hair brush. 

In sweeping, many prefer a carpet-sweeper to an ordinary 
broom, as it raises no dust. If this is used the corners 
must be carefully brushed with a whisk or with a com- 
mon broom. If an ordinary broom is used hold it close 
to the floor and sweep with short strokes. The bedstead and 
bureau must be moved, so that the carpet where they have 
stood may be swept. Brush under all the heavy pieces of 
furniture that can not be moved, with a whisk broom. 

Windows, Mifi'ors. — After the sweeping is over and 
the dust has settled and has been wiped up, open the windows. 



HO USE- CL EA NING. 69 



Dust the front and back of pictures with the feather duster. 
Of course paintings, unless covered with glass, should not be 
dusted. Replace furniture and rugs. 

Clean the bureau-glass and other mirrors, if there are any, 
by washing them with cold water with a little bluing in it, 
and a sponge or lintless cloth. Polish them with boiled 
pai>er muslin cloths, chamois or soft paper. 

If the windows are dirty or streaked they should be washed 
in much the same way as the mirrors. When they are \ery 
dirty put a litde hartshorn in the water. Alcohol in the 
water in cold weather will often prevent its freezing. Of all 
things avoid dashing water upon the windows ; there is no 
necessity for this, as they can be washed outside as well as 
inside by raising or lowering the sash. If there should be 
any paint on the panes, it can easily be removed by dipping 
a copper into cold water .and rubbing it over the pane ; then 
wash the glass. Windows should be rubbed up and down, 
always in the same direction. 

Brasses. — The brass fire set, tongs, shovel, poker and 
stand may be cleaned with powdered rotten-stone mixed with 
sweet oil, and polished carefully with chamois. Brasses must 
be rubbed hard to be made bright. There are many good 
preparations for cleaning brasses which save much time and 
work. 

The steel fire set may be cleaned with the brick dust such 
as is used for knives. Sandpaper is also useful in cleaning 
steel. A little whiting, mixed with sweet oil, rubbed on steel 
and then rubbed immediately off", will keep it from rusting. 
This should be done about once a month. 



70 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Soot, Stains. — Where soft coal is constantly used, there 
is sometimes a fall of soot from the chimney. When this 
occurs sprinkle Indian meal plentifully over the soot, which 
can then be swept up without at all injuring the carpet. If 
this is not done the soot will blacken the carpet. 

If there are stains on black walnut furniture which is not 
polished or varnished, they can usually be removed by rubbing 
with a flannel wet in linseed oil. 

Marble, Silver Fitthtf/s, etc, — All the marble in the 
room, bureau and table tops, mantel and hearth, should be 
washed. Unless very dirty these only require cold water and 
a soft cloth, with the exception of the hearth, which should 
be washed or scrubbed with sapolio. For further directions 
about the care of marble see the chapter on House-cleaning. 

If the gas globes are dirty or smoked they must be washed. 
A little soda or borax in the water will assist in removing the 
smoke. 

Clean silver plated faucets, hinges, knobs, bell handles, 
registers, etc., with whiting, wet with a little watQr. Rub it 
on with soft cloth and off with another ; polish with chamois 
skin. If the plating is black or stained, wet the whiting with 
alcohol instead of water, and proceed as before. 

Brushes and Combs, — Hair-brushes should be fre- 
quently washed in cold water and borax, unless one has the 
regular brush powder to be had of any druggist. The 
brushes must not be left to soak. Shake the water thoroughly 
from the bristles. Clean the combs with a thread run between 
the teeth, and then wash and dry thoroughly. 



HO USE-CLEA NING. J I 



If a towel is used for a bureau-cover it should always be 
fresh and clean. 

The Attic. — There is little to say about the general care 
of the attic. The floor is usually of board and should be 
scrubbed occasionally with cold water and sand. When 
scrubbing is not needed it may be swept with a hair broom. 
All articles in the attic should be neatly arranged and kept 
as free from dust as possible. For more thorough cleaning, 
see the section on General House-cleaning. 



SECTION II. — GENERAL HOUSE-CLEANING, 

The spring is the best time for house-cleaning ; for after 
furnace, grates and stoves have been in constant use for six 
or more months there is always more or less dust in the 
carpets and furniture, and the walls and paint are defaced 
with the smoke, ashes and gas which, owing to their light and 
penetrating nature, no one can altogether prevent escaping. 

House-cleaning should not be the terror of a woman's life, 
the synonym for discomfort and disorder ; nor would it be if 
system and order were used. Do one thing at a time, and do 
it thoroughly, should be the house-cleaner's motto. 

The first thing to be done preparatory to house-cleaning is 
to have all the chimneys thoroughly swept and the furnace 
and range flues cleaned. The furnace pipes should be taken 
down, cleansed, and wrapped in newspaper until they are to 
be used again. 



HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



The Ovdev to be Obserred. — Follow this order in 
cleaning house, and much confusion and disorder will be 
avoided : 

First the Cellar, next the Attic, then the Bedrooms, Dining- 
room, Parlor, Library, Halls, Stairways, Front Door, Vestibule, 
Verandas, Areas, Skylights. 

Before you begin to do any cleaning at all, supply your- 
self with the necessary things to clean with, and then com- 
mence work. The list of these articles is given in the 
chapter on Chamber-work, Sect. I. 

TJie Cellar, — For several reasons which you will see are 
quite proper we would first clean the cellar. 

If you have registers in your house close them all tightly, 
because coal-dust and ashes fly and suck up through the 
furnace flues and would light upon the furniture. First clean 
the coal-bins and get in your supply of coal. If there is 
an ash-vault it should be emptied and all the ashes removed. 
All rubbish that may have collected should be cleaned away. 
Chop up waste boxes and pieces of board for kindling wood 
and put it in place. The walls should be brushed down and 
whitewashed. 

Whitewash is easily made in the following way : — 
Put two quarts of unslaked lime in an old tub, pour a 
tea-kettle full of boiling water on it and clap a cover imme- 
diately over the tub. When cold, to one quart of this add 
enough water to make it the consistency of milk, add bluing 
and a handful of salt, and beat it well. Whitewashing a 
cellar keeps it healdiy. 



HOUSE-CLEANING. 73 

Clean the cellar windows next. Whatever is to remain in 
the cellar should be cleaned and put away in an orderly man- 
ner. The last thing to attend to is the floor, which if 
stone, cement or brick should be scrubbed. 

The Attic, — Now that you have got rid of all the soot, 
ashes and coal-dust, go to the attic and treat it as you have 
treated the cellar, cleaning every thing within it and clearing 
out ever}'' useless article. Neither the cellar nor the attic 
should be receptacles of rubbish. If there are any carpets 
or woolens of any kind stored away in trunks or boxes take 
them down into the yard, beat and brush them and hang 
them on the line to air. After they have aired for a few 
hours, fold them smoothly and sprinkle camphor gum between 
the folds ; wrap the articles in newspaper and lay them away 
in the trunks or chests they were in. 

Every thing in the attic should be dusted, the walls brushed 
down and fif not hard finished) whitewashed or kalsomined, 
the windows cleaned and the floor scrubbed with cold water 
and sand. Board floors should never be scrubbed with hot 
water and soap, for this would make them dark and greasy 
looking. 

Gicites. — After the attic is cleaned it is well to make one 
job of cleaning all the grates, for it is dirty work and when 
once begun had better be gone through with. 

To polish steel grates use fine emer>- paper and sweet oil, 
and then rub them off with a soft cloth and polish with 
newspaper. 



74 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

If a grate has not been used and has become rusty, rub 
unslaked Hme on it and the rust will come off; then use the 
emery paper. If there are summer blowers remove the grates, 
put in the blowers, and wrap the grates in newspaper and 
put them away. 

Bedrooms, — It is now time to begin to clean the bed- 
rooms. Commence with the upper rooms and clean down. 
All the draperies — such as curtains, lambrequins, portieres, 
etc., should be taken down and shaken in the open air, or 
brushed, and then put upon a long table, the ironing-table 
or extension dining table, and rubbed off with soft lintless 
cloths ; this removes any smut that may have adhered. Fold 
them evenly and put them away in linen and with camphor. 
Then take down the linen window shades, and if they do not 
require to be calendered rub them off with clean cloths on a 
table. Press them with an iron and roll them up. 

Pictures, — Take down all the pictures, handling the 
frames with soft cloths. No frame should be held in the 
hand. Dust them, wipe the glass with a damp cloth and set 
them away where they will be safe. 

Furnifnre, — After the draperies are cared for, then go to 
the furniture. If upholstered, beat it with the rattan ; if 
tufted, brdsh out all the creases, especially around the but- 
tons. Wipe all with a cloth and place the furniture in another 
room ; or, if tliis is impossible, put it in the center of the 
room and cover it over with a dust sheet. 



HOUSE-CLEANING. 75 

Carpets, — The furniture and pictures removed, the car- 
pets may be taken up carefully to be shaken. Use care in 
raising them : do not pull them up, but extract the tacks 
with a tack-lifter, and fold them so that you do not scatter 
the dust. If there is a lining it should be put into a sheet 
,and carried into the yard and brushed off. If there is no 
lining, sprinkle wet sand on the floor and sweep it up gently ; 
this will gather the dust. The sand should be frequently 
washed and will answer for all the floors used in this way. 

Beds. — The beds should then be cleaned as directed in 
the section on the Care of the Bedroom. 

Closets, — In cleaning closets, remove all the articles from 
the shelves, drawers and pegs. Dust tlie boxes and shake 
whatever is folded in the open air. The drawers should then 
be taken out and scrubbed ; also the frames in which they 
are set, the paint, the shelves, and lastly the floor. Leave the 
doors and drawers open until they are thoroughly dry ; then 
put back whatever you have taken out, observing the order in 
which they were placed. 

Blinds, — Your closets being clean and in order, clean the 
blinds by first brushing them, then wash them with cold water 
without soap and dry them well. 

Baint, — The painted wood-work throughout a house may 
be cleaned nicely in two ways, but we would recommend 
the following as the least injurious to the paint and the most 
satisfactorv when done : — 



7b HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



Use a soft flannel and warm water, wringing the flannel 
out so that no water will drip from it. Have a bowl with 
finely pulverized pumice stone in it ; dip the flannel in this 
powder and rub the paint up and down with it and then 
wipe it off with soft light Canton flannel This takes off" spots 
and dirt and does not wear ofl" or soften the paint as soap 
does, for all soap contains some soda which acts upon the 
paint. If any soap is used, and many good housekeepers 
prefer it, then use white Castile. This will not turn white 
paint yellow as brown soap does. 

Hard Wood, — Many houses are now finished in hard 
wood, such as black walnut, white ash, oak, etc. To clean 
black walnut use hnseed oil on cotton, rub it off thoroughly 
with a little oil on the cotton and then rub again with dry 
cotton. 

Light woods require nothing but clean cold water and a 
soft cloth and polishing with old soft flannel. 

Tainted If alls, — Painted walls should never be scrubbed. 
They may be cleaned with the pulverized pumice stone as 
painted wood-work, or if stained, with bran-water, — half a 
peck of bran to a pail of cold water. Let it stand over 
night and it is ready for use in the morning. If there are 
dark places on the walls behind the pictures, let the bran- 
water sour, then wet light muslin with this water and place it 
over the dark places, letting it cling to the wall until it dries 
and drops off. If the mark is not removed, wet it again. 

If the walls are frescoed or papered then put a soft Canton 



HOUSE-CLEANING. Jj 

flannel bag on a broom and wipe them down, beginning at 
the cornice and coming straight down to the base board with 
an even pressure. All walls should be cleaned straight up 
and down, never across. Should there be soiled marks on 
the paper, they can be removed by rubbing carefully with dry 
bread. 

The bedrooms done, it is better to clean the halls and 
stairways down to the parlor floor. Close all the doors and 
begin with the upper hall. If the halls and stairs are car- 
peted, take the carpets up as directed, and clean the walls 
and wood-work. 

Parlors, — Parlors usually contain articles of value, and 
each should have its own peculiar gentle care. Marble 
mantels or other pieces of marble may be cleaned with 
flannel and the pulverized pumice stone. Sapolio is a little 
harsh and sometimes scratches the fine polish. Saphio is 
finer and better; use very little of any thing of this sort 
unless the marble is very dirty. The hearth will have to be 
scrubbed with sapolio. 

Marble-top tables need nothing but cold water and a soft 
cloth. 

If the marble is stained use Javelle water. Marl^le orna- 
ments and statuary wash with . cold water and soft flannel 
cloths. 

If the pictures are hung with wire it should be burnished 
when the pictures are taken down. If cord is used, brush it 
and examine it to see if the moths have eaten it; if so the 
cord is no longer safe. 



yS HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Ornaments. — All ornaments should be treated very ten- 
derly, — you can not use too much care. Delicate glass or 
china should be washed in a paper basin or wooden tub with 
a heavy, soft cloth thrown over it, so that the ornament may 
not strike any thing hard. Use the finest, softest cloths ; old 
handkerchiefs are very good for this purpose. 

Bronzes if much soiled may be cleaned with turpentine. 
Be sure to rub off all you put on. If they are only dusty 
wipe them with soft cloths. 

Every thing in a parlor should be cleaned and removed 
before the cleaning of the room itself is done. 

Chandeliers, — In cleaning chandeliers remove the globes 
and wash them. Brush the chandelier thoroughly with a fine 
hair dust-brush ; the burners should be brushed with an old 
tooth-brush. If the chandelier is bronze, rub it off with 
turpentine ; if gilt, brush and wipe it with a soft cloth. 
Replace the globes. 

Library, — You may proceed with the library as you have 
done with the parlor. After you have removed ornaments, 
furniture and carpets, then go to the book-cases, begin at 
the top shelves and clean down one shelf at a time, wipe 
the books off and replace them. If the shelves need rubbing 
then do one case at a time, placing the books from each shelf 
in a pile so that they may be returned to their own places in 
order. If the shelves are painted and need scrubbing, do 
not return the books until the shelves are perfectly dry, other- 
wise the books would mold. 



HO USE- CL EA NING. 79 

Fire-Brasses, — If there are fire-brasses, clean them as 
you would the stair-rods. 

Wooden Carpets, — No\v-a-days we often see wooden 
carpets on libraries, and these need cleaning too. They look 
well if rubbed off with bees-wax and turpentine. Melt 
a piece of bees-wax the size of an ^g^^ in a coffee-cup of 
turpentine ; let it cool and it will be of the consistency of 
lard. Apply this with a flat brush for the purpose, rubbing 
it well, and finally polish with a soft cloth. Door-sills are 
cleaned in the same way. 

Carpets, — x\ word about carpets. Ingrain and three-ply 
carpets should be taken up every year, unless the rooms have 
been litde used. Brussels should be shaken every two years 
and Wiltons and Axminsters every three years. These latter 
carpets are so heavy that the dust can not sift through them 
readily, and good sweeping is all they need for preservation. 

After the carpets have been shaken and laid, they should 
be cleaned. Put three tablespoons of ox-gall in a pail of 
cold water and stir it well. " Household Ammonia " is used 
in the same way. Wring out cloths in the water either 
with the gall or hartshorn in it, and rub the carpet well with 
the grain, or length of the breadth ; dry as you go with clean 
cloths. The water must be changed three or four times to a 
carpet. 

Matting, — Many like matting on their floors during sum- 
mer, and this like every thing else must be cleaned. Put a 



80 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

handful of salt in a pail of cold water and wash the matting, 
dry it off carefully and it will be clean and white ; the salt 
will prevent it from turning yellow. 

It is also well to use either a litde bran or Indian meal in 
washing mattings. Put it either in the water or in a saucer 
into which dip the brush after wetting. 

Entrances* — The inside of your house being clean, the 
Front Door, Vestibule, Verandas, and Sky-lights should receive 
their share of attention. 

Should the front door be grained, wash it as you would 
paint. If it is solid wood, clean it as you would the wood 
of furniture ; a good recipe for this is one gill of olive oil 
to two gills spirits of turpentine. This takes off scratches 
and leaves a nice polish. But care should always be used to 
rub it in with soft cotton, free from specks ; then rub off with 
fresh cotton so that you can feel none left when touched. 
In cleaning the window over the door where the number is, 
be careful not to touch the gold foil of the number, as it will 
rub right off. 

The vestibule should be scrubbed with sapolio and warm 
water. Take care not to strike the sides with your scrub- 
brush. 

The verandas will need scrubbing and the balustrades 
brushing. 

Skylights, — These in order to transmit light, should be 
free from dust. A feather duster on a long pole will reach 
them; tie a cloth on the duster and wipe them thoroughly. 



HO USE- CL EA NING. 8 1 



If you can lift the skylight from the roof, then you can wash 
it as you would a window. 

Do not neglect the areas ; they too should be washed out. 

Spots and Stains, — While a house may be perfectly 
clean, unsightly spots and stains will deface its appearance. 

Ink may have been upset on the carpet and there left its 
ugly mark. The better way to do is to soak it up directly with 
sweet milk, and it will not leave a stain ; but when this has 
not been done, then put salts of lemon in some water and 
soak up all you can get out of it. This will change the color 
of the carpet, but any color is better than an ink stain. 

If you have spilled acid on some woolen goods, as carpets 
or upholstered furniture, wet the discolored part with spirits 
of ammonia. 

If you have got paint on woolens, sponge them with ether. 
Breathe as little of it as you can and do it by an open 
window. 

Candle-grease may be removed by scraping off as much as 
you can very gently with a pen-knife, then place thick brown 
paper on the wrong side and iron it with a hot flat-iron. 

Grease spots can be erased by using the following mix- 
ture : — 

Mix one ounce of pulverized borax and half an ounce of 
gum camphor with one quart of boiling water; keep it in a 
bottle and shake it well before using ; apply with a flannel. 

Stains may be removed from a kitchen-table or board 
floor by rubbing on a knife brick and then scrubbing well 
with cold water; use no soap. 



S2 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Iron rust can be removed from steel by covering it with 
sweet oil. Leave it on a day and then rub with finely pulver- 
ized unslaked lime. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER V. 

Section I. — Describe the care of the bed on the weekly 
cleaning day. In what order are the articles in the room to be 
dusted ? Give details about the sweeping and dusting. How 
are the windows and the mirrors best cleaned .'' The brasses ? 
The steel tire-set ? How may soot en the carpet be gotten rid of .'^ 
How stains on black walnut furniture? In what way are marble 
and silver fittings to be cleaned ? What is said about cleaning 
combs and brushes ? Describe the care of the attic. 

Sect. II. — Why is spring the best time for general house- 
cleaning ? What is to be done in preparation for it ? Name the 
order to be followed in cleaning the different parts of the house. 
Describe the cleaning of the cellar. Can you tell how to make 
whitewash ? Describe the cleaning of the attic ; of the grates ; 
the bedrooms; the pictures; the furniture; the carpets; the 
beds : the closets ; the blinds ; the painted wood-work. How 
are hard woods and light woods to be cleaned ? How walls, 
whether painted, frescoed or papered ? How the halls, the 
stairways and the parlor ? What remark is made about the 
cleaning of parlor ornaments ? Describe the cleaning of bronzes 
and of chandeliers. Hov^- is the library to be cleaned 'i What 
is said of the cleaning of wooden carpets ? of other carpets ? of 
matting? of the front door? of the vestibule? the veranda? the 
skylights ? How can ink spots be removed from carpets ? What 
is said about stains from acids ? about removing paint spots and 
candle-ofrease ? What will take rust off from steel ? 



DRESS. 83 



CHAPTER VI. 

DRESS. 

SECTION \.-USES AND MATERIALS OF DRESS. 

The first object of dress is to cover and protect the person 
of the wearer. Its second object is to adorn and beautify 
that person. 

These two objects are so closely associated that it is diffi- 
cult to attain one without strict attendon to the other. If 
our bodies are not properly clothed they will be sickly ; if 
our bodies are sickly, our minds will suffer. How then shall 
we dress healthfully? 

We should l)e cleanly in dress. Underclothing should be 
frequently changed, even though it may not look much 
soiled ; because it absorbs the perspiration. 

The practice of sleeping in clothes worn during the day 
is unhealthful. During sleep foul matters are thrown off from 
the body, saturating the night clothing, the odor of which in 
the morning is sufficient to prove the uncleanliness of these 
excretions. Setting neatness aside, the habit of carrying 
around during the day these exhalations is pernicious. 

We should grade clothing carefully, changing from one 
thickness to another, according to the heat and cold, to avoid 
the effects of sudden changes in the temperature. It is best 



$4 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

to wear clothing of about the same thickness through a sea- 
son ; but do not change arbitrarily from thick to thin, or the 
reverse, at any set time of the year. 

Flannels. — In this climate flannels ought always to be 
worn next the skin. Their gentle friction aids circulation, and 
they are a good safeguard against ills resulting from sudden 
changes of the weather. Flannel over the chest, and (espe- 
cially in infants) over the abdomen, is indispensable. 

The feet ought to be well protected against cold and damp, 
else the circulation of the blood is checked. 

Wraps find Ilubbers. — India rubber overshoes have to 
be worn in heavy storms, but should not be kept on a moment 
longer than necessary, as, not being porous, they retain the 
natural moisture of the feet, thus making them tender, and 
very susceptible to cold, as well as inducing corns and 
bunions. 

Outer wraps ought to be laid aside in heated buildings. 
It is troublesome, but will save from weakness, colds and 
throat complaints. 

Easy Dress, — One reason why boys are so often better 
in health than girls, is that their mode of dress permits them 
to use all their limbs freely, thus exercising the muscles and 
stimulating healthy circulation. Girls are often fairly skew- 
ered into their clothes, so that free motion of legs, arms, or 
body, is impossible ; little exercise can be taken, and that is 



DRESS. 85 

a weariness ; so the muscles grow flabby, the blood becomes 
thin and circulates languidly, and the girl is sallow and nerv- 
ous, and resorts to stimulants and tonics, when all that ails 
her is improperly made clothing. Do not swathe yourselves 
in quantities of skirts, so that you can not walk and run ; do 
not wear waists and sleeves skin tight ; above all, do not 
tighten up your corsets. All these things will give you cold 
feet, headache and dyspepsia; and lacing in your waist will 
also, slowly but surely, displace the internal organs, and 
induce distressing complaints, — diseases of the heart, liver, 
stomach, lungs, etc. 

All heavy weights suspended from the hips are most 
injurious. Just here, women most need strength ; just here 
they are most prone to weakness. 

Dress as Adornment, — The second object of dress is 
to adorn and beautify. 

Beauty and grace are largely dependent upon health and 
comfort. Girls are not pretty or graceful, and emphatically 
not well dressed, when made uncomfortable in any way by 
clothing. The nearer we can adapt necessary clothing to the 
needs of the crowning work of God, the nearer we approach 
His ideas, which are absolute beauty. Some of the ways in 
which the " human form divine " is distorted, are these ; 
Disproportionate waist and bust ; cramped hands and feet ; 
excrescences on any part of the body. 

It is a good general rule not to exaggerate the contours 
of any portion of the figure. 



86 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Stt/le of Dress, — Dress may be described under three 
heads, viz. : Underclothing, Outer Clothing and Miscel- 
lanies. For each of these the watchword is, Suitabihty, or 
adaptation to the needs of the wearer. 

Undertvear, — Every one should have underwear which 
is at least plentiful, clean and whole, be the dress never so 
plain. Underclothing should be adapted to the occupation 
of the wearer. When worn to work in, let it be plain, stout 
and easily ironed ; and of more dainty make for a time of 
leisure. It should not be over-trimmed. Stockings must fit 
well, or they will produce corns. For winter v^-ear, some 
prefer wool, some heavy cotton. Either material is good, but 
let the stockings be warm and long, covering the knee well. 
It seems better, upon the whole, to keep them in place by 
means of an elastic garter, not so tight as to impede circu- 
lation, than by so-called " supporters," which drag upon the 
hips, besides being continually out of order. 

A row of buttons, sewed round the waist of the corset, 
with corresponding button-holes in the skirt bands, will serve 
to equalize the weight of the under-skirts, and keep them 
from dragging. The dress skirts may be hung to braces, 
passing over the shoulder, and always crossing in the back, 
so they will not constantly drop down over the arm, and 
impede motion. This is recommended, in preference to sus- 
pending the whole weight from the shoulders, as that tires 
the chest, and prevents free motion of the upper part of the 
body. Provided corsets are allowed to fit with perfect ease, 
they are useful to support the weight of the skirts. Wear as 



DRESS. Sy 

little extra underclothing as possible, in winter, but let that 
be both light and warm. Wool is the best material. 

Outer Clothing. — This^ again, should first of all be 
suitable. Things which are beautiful in the parlor, may be 
inappropriate on the street. If a girl has work to do, let her 
wear clothing suited, to her work. Waterproof wraps are 
desirable for stormy weather. One which does not pinion 
the arms is preferable. Skirts should be well raised to avoid 
wet ankles. 

The tendency is always to over-trim ; fussy trimming breaks 
the handsome lines of dress, and hides the beauty of the 
material. Design simply, and trim plainly, if you would have 
artistically made dresses. 

3Tisc€lhnii€s, — Under this indefinite name count shoes, 
gloves, hats and bonnets, jewelry and all the " trifles light as 
air " which go to furnish forth a woman's toilet. 

Shoes, being of a proper size, should have a broad sole, to 
keep the feet from '' spilling over " at the sides. Extension 
soles are caj^ital for walking. Heels that are too high injure 
the spine and make it difficult to walk gracefully. A small 
heel is good to raise the foot from the damp, and to correct 
a lazy habit some women have, of walking on their heels ; 
but it should be broad and firm. 

Gloves ought not to be a prominent feature of any toilet. 
They should be well fitting, not tight, and harmonize in 
color. 

Study to be quiet in dress. This should be the rule of 
every one. 



i^S HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Truly modest women will avoid all undue exposure of the 

person. 

Use as few pins as possible about dress, substituting a 
button, stud or string wherever that is possible. 

It is hardly necessary to say, that unless clothes are whole, 
neatly kept, neatly put on, with tidy hair and accompaniments, 
all beautiful dressing is worthless. 

Material and Cost, — What shall we buy? Never buy 
a poor material because it is cheap. It will not pay tor the 
making. 

For underclothing which is to be worn at work, unbleached 
cotton goods are heartily recommended. The absence of 
dressing in them makes them wear longer, and the quality is 
far better than a corresponding grade of white goods. Canton 
flannel makes excellent winter drawers. That which has a 
short, close nap, and very fine, firm back, should be chosen. 

Some people prefer gray or red flannel to white, as it shows 
soil less. It should be remembered, however, that it does 
soil just as much as white, and needs changing just as often. 
All-wool flannel is nicest and softest, but it shrinks badly. 
A mixture, part cotton, washes best, provided the cotton and 
wool are carded together before weaving. If merino flannels 
are worn, those woven throughout, with no sewed seams, 
are best. 

For working (house) dresses, gingham is preferable to 
calico, as it wears far better, and is cheaper in the end 
though higher in price. Subdued patterns are the best. 
Blues and greens do not wash well. 



DRESS. 89 

In buying dress-goods width is always to be considered. 
For the every-day wear of a busy hfe, all-wool cashmere, 
indeed any of the simple, inexpensive woolen goods, with 
which the stores are filled, are excellent. 

American silk wears well ; French silk has a higher luster. 
It is not wise for those who would dress well and yet eco- 
nomically to muhiply dresses. One nice one is better than 
three indifferent ones. At the same time it is a bad plan 
to wear the same dress in the street and in the house, as it 
grows shabby almost immediately. 

One handsome outer garment for winter that can be worn 
with any dress is better economy than a jacket to each suit ; 
these are troublesome and expensive, though very pretty. 

In choosing colors, materials and goods, it is a good rule 
to buy nothing pronounced. 

Of the thousand and one little things that finish woman's 
dress, it suffices to say in general that very much money 
should not be expended on them, and that they should be 
chosen with an eye to use and durability rather than to the 
extreme of the fashion they represent. 

Women should make conscience of the cost of their dress, 
limidng it to a due proportion of their means, large or small, 
and then not exceeding this proportion. 

To sum up : if dress be healthful, comfortable, suitable, 
well selected, and within the wearer's means, it will be 
beautiful. 



90 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



SECTION II. — PLMH SEWING. 

In these days when sewing-machines are so much used, 
women neglect the knowledge of sewing by hand. This 
branch of work, however, is very important. There are vari- 
ous styles of sewing that wash better and are more durable 
if done by hand ; and there are many ladies who never use 
machine work on their undergarments and household linen. 
A woman, therefore, who perfects herself in hand work can 
almost invariably secure steady employment. 

Things Needed, — To work easily and well, one should 
always have a work-basket kept constantly ready with the 
best implements for work. It should contain a thimble, 
scissors, emery-bag, buttons, various spools of both white and 
black thread, and a needle-book filled with several sizes of 
needles, together with bobbin and darning needles. iV small 
pin-cushion and a piece of wax for strengthening thread are 
also very important. 

The most requisite kinds of sewing are hemming, stitching, 
running, felling, overhanding, overcasting, darning, and the 
making of button-holes. 

Button-holes, — To make these neatly, the sides should 
first be carefully overcast, and where strength is required, 
five small button-hole stitches should be made at each end. 
Always begin a button-hole on the bottom edge, and at the 



DRESS. 91 



left hand corner. To make it even take a stitch between 
every other thread of the material you are working on. 

Darninff. — In darning, long stitches should be worked 
one way across the hole to be darned, then one should begin 
sideways, and take up every other one of these long stitches, 
so that the hole may be filled with a kind of basket work of 
thread. Great care is needed not to draw the hole in any 
smaller, as it would then not lie entirely flat and even. 

Patching. — In patching, the patch should be basted on 
the wrong side of the article to be mended, the edges turned 
in and hemmed down. On the right side of the garment, 
the hole should be cut out in square form, and edges turned 
in and hemmed neatly on to patch. It is often better to 
darn the hole on to the patch instead of following the above 
directions. 

When they come from the wash, clothes should always be 
mended, and buttons sewed on them, if needed, before they 
are put away. 

Shoe buttons should be sewed on with coarse linen thread 
waxed. Yellow wax is best for this purpose. A metallic 
fastening for buttons may be bought, and it will save a good 
deal of time and trouble. 

Hemming, — The most necessary thing in hemming is to 
have the hem turned over exactly even. This may be secured 
by measuring every few inches with a strip of paper, and 
where the hem is wide it should invariably be basted before 



92 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

sewing. The felling of a seam is the hemming one edge of 
it over upon the garment after the seam has been carefully 
stitched. To make running or gathering exactly even, one 
should take up two threads on the needle and skip four. 

When gathering a long piece of work, divide it in halves 
or quarters, and take a new piece of thread for each division. 
This is a great help should the gathering thread break. When 
gathering is divided in this way, it is much easier to put on 
the band evenly. 

To prevent spool cotton from knotting or kinking, thread 
the needle with the end that first comes from the spool, and 
not where it is broken off. 

Even Seams. — Sewing can not be well done unless the 
seams are evenly cut. In cotton goods it is best to tear 
and not cut apart the breadths of a piece of work when 
they run even with the thread, such as in sheets, pillow 
covers, etc. 

When linen is used, a thread should be drawn along the 
length of a seam so that it may be cut by that. Other- 
wise the sewing will not look even and straight after it is 
washed. 

Indeed, the proper cutting out of work is essential to its 
looking well. In all cases where the garment is not in sim- 
ple straight breadths, a paper pattern should be used. This 
should be most carefully pinned upon the material, and the 
seams should be neatly basted, before any sewing is done. 

Never cut out a piece of work upon the lap. Lay it 
upon an uncovered table, or upon a smooth board resting 
upon the lap. 



DRESS. 93 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VI. 

Section I. — What are the two main objects of dress ? 
Why is it not healthy to sleep in the clothes worn during the 
day ? Explain the best way of adapting our dress to the season. 
Why should flannels be worn ? What care do the feet require .'* 
Why should tight lacing be avoided ? What is the effect of sus- 
pending a too heavy weight of dress from the hips ? Mention 
some of the disfigurements caused by dress. By what word may 
a correct style of dress be characterized ? What kind of under- 
wear is proper ? Why should stockings fit well 1 How are they 
best kept in place ? How may skirts be supported 1 What 
quality is most desirable in outer-clothing .^ What kinds of 
wraps are preferable .^ What is said about fussy trimming ? 
Describe shoes that are suitable for walking. Mention some 
of the bad effects of high-heeled shoes. What kind of gloves 
are suitable ? What materials are good for underwear } For 
house dresses 'i Is one dress or many the best economy ? What 
is a good rule in choosing colors 1 What is said of economy in 
dress ? 

Sect. II. — What is said of hand and machine sewing.? 
Describe the contents of the work-basket. Name the chief 
kinds of sewing. How are button-holes made } Describe darn- 
ing ; patching ; hemming. How is gathering to be made even .? 
What is said of even seams 1 What care should be taken in 
cutting out work ? 



94 HOUSEHOLD ECOA'OiMY. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE LIBRARY. 

SECTION I. — THE FIELD OF READING. 

A VAST world of literature lies all around us into which 
every woman, no matter what her occupation, sliould in 
some measure seek to enter. The highest intellectual life 
is restricted to comparatively few, and yet it is '^ in some 
degree within the reach of every one who earnestly desires it." 
A taste for reading and the best literature should be ear- 
nestly and perseveringly culUvated. It opens an unfailing 
source of comfort, and often brings strength and refreshment 
to many a woman wearied with petty vexations and daily 
household cares. 

Books as Companions, — Much has been said and 
written about the companionship of books. " A good book 
may be among the best of friends. Books introduce us into 
the best society, they bring us into the presence of the great- 
est minds that ever lived." No home is complete without 
books, and no woman can be indifferent to them without 
missing something that will greatly add to the power, useful- 
ness and happiness of her life. A library in its fullest sense 
may be beyond the reach of many, but every home should 



THE LIBRARY. 95 



contain if possible a few good books which could be added 
to from time to time as circumstances allow. By a little 
economy in other matters, a good book may often be ob- 
tained which will more than repay for the sacrifice it may 
have cost. The plan of making systematic additions to the 
library is to be recommended. A catalogue of the books 
may be kept with advantage. Preparing such a catalogue 
gives increased knowledge of the books and authors,- and as 
the collection grows larger it vv^ill be found a useful means 
of reference and record. 

JVliat is a Libt'cii'j/ ? — Strictly speaking, a library may 
be defined as a " collection of selected books." But besides 
this, in many homes where library and study are combined 
in one, it is also a place for quiet thought, for literary labor 
and intellectual enjoyment ; and it is of the care of such a 
place in its details that this chapter would especially treat. 

The Choice of Books, — A few words, however, as to the 
selection and use of books. 

The formation of a large library is not often a woman's 
work in the home ; but every one in collecting books, how- 
ever few, should seek to procure works of good moral tone, 
various character and . of permanent value. Sensational lit- 
erature, and books of doubtful morality, should be carefully 
avoided. 

Desultory reading, or passing carelessly from one subject 
to another, should be guarded against ; but it is well for 
every woman, who has the opportunity, to make herself 



96 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



familiar with the various branches of good Hterature. The 
field is a wide one, and in it every woman should choose 
according to her opportunities and requirements. Biography, 
history, travels, poetry, well selected fiction, essays, theology, 
literary criticism, and scientific works may all be helpful to 
women, and find their fit place in the home library. 



SECTION U. — ARRANGEMENT AND CARE OF THE LIBRARY. 

We must now consider the arrangement and care of books 
and of the furniture usually found in libraries ; beginning with 
the bookcases. 

Bookcases consist of a series of shelves for holding books, 
and are both movable and stationary, often being built in 
the room. Some are made with glass doors ; in front of 
others we find hangings, arranged to push aside, which serve 
to protect the books and also help to furnish the apartment. 
The best plan is to have open shelves, because then the books 
are easier to get at, and more likely to be used. 

Books should be carefully arranged on the shelves, accord- 
ing to authors, and if the collection is of some size, accord- 
ing to the subject also ; books of the same character or the 
works of an author being put together. They should also be 
arranged symmetrically according to size, beginning at the 
same end on each shelf, with the larger books. There should 
be a special place for each book, to which it should always 
be returned after using. 



THE LIBRARY. 97 



Shelves, Hnugiuf/s, — The shelves of a bookcase should 
be kept free from dust. In the general cleaning, they should 
be emptied, wiped off with a damp cloth, and each book 
dusted and put back in its place. In the daily dusting, the 
shelves should be carefully dusted off in front, on the top of 
the books and behind, if possible. 

If there are glass doors to a bookcase they should be kept 
clear by frequent wiping and polishing. 

Hangings should be lightly shaken and occasionally brushed 
with a whisk broom. If of satin or other delicate silk mate- 
rial they should be carefully wiped with a silk or soft old 
linen duster to keep the dust from collecting in the folds. 
On sweeping days, they should be removed if possible, and 
well brushed and shaken. This of course does not apply 
to curtains, but only to the smaller hangings now so much 
used. 

Treatment of Books, — In using books great care should 
be taken of them. It is sometimes well to put a temporary 
cover on a book while it is being read, to protect the 
binding. 

The practice of covering books with pencilings should be 
strictly avoided. To mark a favorite passage, or make mar- 
ginal notes in one's own book is allowable, and often useful, 
but careless pencihngs are a great disfigurement. 

Handsome illustrated books too large to be put in book- 
cases are usually placed on stands or tables. They should 
always be handled with great care, and laid on some flat 
surface when opened, to prevent the binding from breaking. 



98 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

The Librarf/ Table usually occupies the center of the 
room. It should be so placed, if possible, that the light 
should fall from the left hand in writing. It is generally 
made of wood, covered with cloth, and contains drawers for 
writing materials, etc. On it are usually placed the news- 
papers, magazines, and latest books ; also books which are 
being read. 

The cloth top of the table should always be kept free from 
dust by frequent brushing, the books, papers, magazines, etc., 
arranged in order upon it, and as the new numbers come in 
the old should be removed to prevent crowding the table. 

Writitif/ 3Iaterials. — Any one having charge of the 
library should take care to keep a full supply of writing mate- 
rials in readiness. Note-paper of various kinds, good pens, 
a pen-wiper, blotting-paper, sealing-wax, sharpened pencils, 
India rubber, pen-knife, paper-cutter, postage stamps and 
postal cards should always be found there ready for use. 
Care should also be taken to keep the inkstand well filled, 
and it should occasionally be emptied and washed out to 
keep the ink from getting thick. 

The waste paper basket is quite necessary to the neatness 
of a library. It is for collecting all the torn and useless 
pieces of paper, and should be emptied every day, care 
being taken that nothing of value is thus thrown away. 

Old Magazines. — It is a good plan to keep all old 
magazines and illustrated papers to send to charitable institu- 
tions where they often prove a great blessing. Old news- 



THE LIBRARY. 99 



papers should be kept for lighting fires and other household 
purposes. 

General Care of the Library, — This is much like the 
care of the other rooms in the house. It should have the 
weekly cleaning together with the daily dusting and arrange- 
ment of things in their proper places. A word of warning 
must be given against disturbing the books and papers of a 
student working in the midst of apparent confusion. A room 
in good order is very desirable, but in a study there is at 
times a certain amount of literary confusion which is neces- 
sary and not unattractive. Much annoyance has often been 
caused, and much literary labor undone, by an indiscriminate 
zeal for " putting things to rights." 

Private Papers and letters sometimes accidentally fall 
under the eye of a person taking charge of a library. These 
should never be read to gratify curiosity, but should be held 
as sacred as if sealed. 

The Familfj Hoom. — The library is often the family 
gathering room, and as such should be made as pleasant and 
cozy as possible. And it is woman's thoughtfulness and care 
in little things that can greatly help to make it so. 

For instance, the room may be brightened by placing a 
few plants in the window or a vase of fresh flowers on the 
table. The pages of the last magazine might be cut ready 
for those who may wish to read it, and when evening comes 
the lamp might be lighted, the fire made to burn brightly 



lOO HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

and the easy chairs and slippers placed ready for those 
returning home from business, who may thus be cheered and 
refreshed by finding so much comfort and brightness awaiting 
them. 

Such are a few of the never to be despised little things, 
that add so much to the graces of home, and woman's charm 
and influence in it. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VII. 

Section I. — What is said of the intellectual life? of the 
companionship of books ? of forming a home library ? What 
advantage is there in making a catalogue of the books ? Define 
the library. What other uses has it besides that of containing 
books ? Mention some points that should be borne in mind in 
choosing books. What are the principal kinds of literature ? 

Sect. II. — What different kinds of bookcases are commonly 
used ? Are those with doors to be preferred, or those with open 
shelves ? What is the advantage of open shelves ? What 
arrangement of the books should be made ? How are the book 
shelves and hangings to be cleaned ? What is said about cover- 
ing books in use 1 about writing in books ? about the way to 
handle illustrated works ? Describe the library table. Describe 
the writing apparatus of the library. What use of old magazines 
and illustrated journals is recommended ? What is said about 
the general care of the Hbrary ? What caution is given about 
" putting to rights " carelessly ? about reading private papers ? 
How would you make the library attractive as a family meeting 
room ? 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 10 1 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 

SECTION I. — HYGIENE. 

Hygiene is the art or science of preserving health. It is 
doubtful whether any of us realize what an important thing 
health is. Without it, how can a woman accomplish any 
thing in hfe? 

It is a gift and one very easily destroyed. It is the aim 
of this chapter to give a few practical hints for the preserva- 
tion of health. 

TJie Home, — In selecting our home, look for a place 
where plenty of sunshine can get in at the windows, and 
where no back wall will come close to the rear, thus prevent- 
ing a free circulation of air. In furnishing, do not purchase 
things that we feel will be injured by the sunlight, so that we 
shall hesitate to pull up the shades. 

Fresh Air, — After, or even before sunshine, there is 
nothing so important as plenty of fresh air. A physician 
when asked "What makes the best disinfectant?" answered 
" Fresh air." This, together with cleanliness, will prevent 
the spread of disease, will render a child strong and healthy, 



102 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

and will fit women to do the work they are called to per- 
form. 

Sleep with the window more oj less open firom the top, 
according to weather. See that once or twice during the 
day, the windows are thrown wide open to allow a complete 
change of air, and if the room is full of people, try and have 
the window open from the top. Every person, in taking a 
breath, takes in pure oxygen and gives out impure matter. 
After a while, the pure air is changed to that which is extreme- 
ly impure. Breathing this impure air for several hours each 
day will render a person sickly and unable to meet the needs 
of life. In the modern way of living in flats and small 
apartments, there is great danger that the free ventilation of 
the rooms will not be properly attended to. Do not be afraid 
even in cold weather to let in sufficient air. Be careful not 
to sleep under the bed-clothes, but allow the head to be 
freely uncovered. 

Cleanliness, — Perfect cleanliness in every department of 
the house is essential for the preservation of health. Do not 
be afraid of the free use of water. Never allow any decay- 
ing matter, as vegetables, fruit, etc., to remain in your living 
rooms, as they will render the air impure. The plumbing and 
drainage of the house or room are most important to look 
into. Allow no disagreeable odor to escape your notice. If 
there is any such odor, search for the cause of it, and if not 
found, have a plumber examine into the reason why. The 
waste-pipes connected with stationary basins in bedrooms are 
most harmful, as there is so apt to be some obnoxious gas 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. IO3 

coming from them. If you are obliged to sleep in a room with 
such a basin, throw a damp towel over it before going to 
sleep, to prevent any impure air from escaping, and when not 
in use, keep a Httle water in the basin. 

Disinfectants, — A free use of some disinfectant in the 
closets, and wherever else pipes are introduced, is very useful. 
Most of the so-called disinfectants do little more than to 
cover up the offensive smell, without destroying its cause. 
The cheapest real disinfectant is the ordinary chloride of 
lime ; it must not, however, be scattered about carelessly, as 
it is very strong. For ordinary household purposes, the best 
disinfectant is Labarraque's solution of chlorinated soda. It 
can be had at any druggist's. It comes in bottles holding 
about a quart. Do not uncork the botde, but make a hole 
through the cork with a small gimlet and insert a goose-quill. 
Through this the fluid can be scattered about conveniently, 
and a small quantity will disinfect a stationary basin or a 
closet-pan. 

Overlieatimf, — In our modern rooms and houses where 
furnace heat is used, there is great danger of overheating the 
atmosphere. One should always have a thermometer which 
can be easily carried from place to place. See that it does 
not mark over seventy degrees in the winter. Try to keep 
the whole house of an equal temperature, and not to go from 
hot to cold rooms. 

Personal Health, — Cleanhness is of the first importance. 
If one is ordinarily well, allow no day to pass without wash- 



104 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

ing or bathing from head to foot. A person will not take 
cold from so doing, for one can quickly restore the circula- 
tion, if chilled, by rubbing with a coarse towel. 

In dressing see that every thing is perfectly loose, espe- 
cially about the waist. Too much can not be said about the 
great evils proceeding from compressing any part of the body. 
It prevents a free circulation of the blood, displaces the vital 
organs, and brings on many weaknesses. Allow no heavy 
weight to come on the hips. 

If a girl could once realize the harm which comes from 
the wearing of high heels, she would never wish to wear them 
again. 

jyiet, — What we eat and how we eat it, are two great 
topics to be considered when the question of health is talked 
of. The eating of nutritious, well cooked food, at regular 
times, always conduces to health, but the taking of poorly 
prepared and hastily eaten food is apt to bring on indiges- 
tion. Let the habit be formed when young, not to eat sweets 
or any such thing between meals. Try and be prompt and 
regular at meal-time, and if possible eat then warm, digestible 
food, rather than lighter fancy things, which while they may 
be agreeable to the taste are lacking in nutritive qualities. 

In the morning, if through over-sleeping one is late to 
breakfast, do not hurry off to school or work taking simply 
a cup of tea or coffee, but always eat with it some solid food. 
Tea and coffee may satisfy for a while, but it is living simply 
on nervous excitement, and one will feel the effects later in 
the day. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. IO5 

Exercise and being out in the open air as much as pos- 
sible are great inducements to health. Walk rather than ride, 
if not too great a distance, and in walking use special care 
that every thing is very loose, and the arms unencumbered. 
Stand as little as possible and do not sit long in one posi- 
tion, as the limbs get tired. The brain as well as the body 
becomes fatigued at the close of a day of activity, and we 
must see that it receives a due amount of rest. Seven or 
eight hours of sleep are necessary, if one would wake up 
refreshed and fitted for the work of the next day. Shun 
sitting up late at night. 

Ccire of the Ef/es. — The eyes are such useful organs 
that a chapter on hygiene ought not to be written without at 
least mentioning the great care that should be taken of them. 
Do not misuse the eyes. Sit with the light back of them and 
on the left hand, so that it may fall on the book or work, and 
not shine directly into the eyes. Be careful never to strain 
them by reading in a dimly lighted room, or in a car or 
carriage, or by using them too long at a time. If they do 
give trouble, wash them frequently in warm water, to which a 
little salt may be added. During sleep, and on waking, no 
bright light should be allowed to fall upon the eyes, whether 
from a gas jet, a night lamp, a mirror, or the morning daylight. 

The Ear. — Great care must be taken not to injure the 
ear when cleaning it. Never use a sharp pointed thing to 
put into it, and when any thing is inserted, be careful to keep 
only on the outside edge of the ear. The inner tissue, called 



I06 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

the drum, can be easily wounded, the smallest touch to it some- 
times occasioning a gathering or even permanent deafness. 

The Throat. — This is a sensitive organ, and care must 
be taken not to expose it needlessly, or to keep it part of 
the time wrapped in fur and part of the time with no extra 
covering. The use of lemon juice is helpful in clearing the 
throat when hoarse. Gargling with salt and water or with a 
solution of chlorate of potash is good for sore throat. 

The Teeth should be kept white, and free from the yellow 
coating that sometimes disfigures them. Brush them thor- 
oughly with cold water and some simple powder, as orris 
root, twice a day. Rinse the mouth after eating, if possible. 
Drawing a silk thread between the teeth preserves them, by 
cleaning them from any food that may settle in them and 
which would cause decay. Do not neglect to have the 
dentist examine the teeth once or twice a year, as he can 
often by filling a cavity prevent great pain and perhaps the 
loss of a tooth. 

The Hair to look glossy and well cared for, must be well 
brushed. If hurried in dressing in the morning, spend at 
least five minutes in brushing the hair every night before retir- 
ing. A little borax in water will clean the head. Wash the 
hair occasionally in warm water made frothy with Castile soap, 
but be sure that the head is well dried before you go into 
the air. Salt dissolved in water added to a little alcohol 
strengthens the hair. The hair may also be greatly strength- 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. IO7 

ened by being washed every little while with the yolk of an 
egg, but see that the hair is afterwards thoroughly washed out. 

Be careful not to use on the hair, or about the person, any 
wash, lotion, salve or liniment, without knowing what it is 
made from. Often great harm is caused to the skin by the 
use of such things, which have perhaps been advertised as 
" a sure preventive " against hair falling out, against pim- 
ples, freckles, etc. Too often these preparations are made of 
poisonous matter. Avoid the use of all " quack medicines." 

In closing this section, it is necessary once more to urge 
the necessity for plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and perfect 
cleanliness, both in the home and about the person. It is 
only when these primary rules of hygiene are fully carried 
out that we can hope to keep the health which is given us. 



SECTION IT. — CARE OF THE SICK. 

There is no duty more pre-eminently that of a woman than 
the care of the sick. Her gentle ministrations are welcomed 
by the sufferer, and no true woman will ever shrink from per- 
forming those kindly offices. Nothing reflects more discredit 
upon her than ignorance upon those subjects which belong 
to her sphere of duty. 

Learning will do much, but without the right spirit the 
nursing will be mechanical. The tact and qualities needed 
in the sick-room are not wholly the result of experience. 
Some have a natural gift for nursing, and are a blessing to 
those who are fortunate enough to come under their care, but 



I08 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

every woman with or without these gifts should know how to 
care for the sick, for women are the natural care-takers. 

It would be impossible in the limits of a single chapter 
to give what it would take volumes to describe, so we will 
be content to give a few important points which may serve 
as a guide when we are called upon to assume the duties of 
a nurse. 

A Good Nurse should have keen perceptions and quiet 
refined ways, and not be above doing any thing that is neces- 
sary for a patient's comfort. She should be bright and cheery, 
remembering that a cheerful face " doeth good like a medicine." 

She should never whisper in the room or just outside 
the door where the patient can catch a word now and then, 
and thus think that there is something serious which is being 
kept from him. 

Unnecessary noises, though slight, disturb a sick person 
much more than louder noises that are necessary. 

Creaking doors or shoes, rattling windows, rustling dresses, 
are very disturbing. All appearance of haste should be 
avoided : the rule is — do things quickly and quietly. The 
great need is perception, the power of seeing what can be 
done and what can not. 

Avoid leaning against or sitting on a patient's bed, and 
never shake it by a knock or otherwise. 

The Sich IRoom. — In home nursing, where few appli- 
ances are generally at hand, it is important to make the best 
of what there are. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. fOQ 

All rooms can not be equal lo large airy hospital wards, 
and it is not often possible to have just such a sick-room as 
you might wish. But choose if you can, a room with a fire- 
place and in which the window will open at the top. 

Unless in warm weather, the fire-place is the best of ven- 
tilators, as the air from the room draws rapidly up the 
chimney. If the patient have a contagious disease, avoid 
standing between the bed and the fire, as the risk of inhaling 
the poisonous gases is greater there than in other parts of 
the room. 

Pure Air, — Miss Nightingale's first rule for nursing is 
'* to keep the air that the patient breathes as pure as the 
external air without chilling him." Doctors tell us that every 
day we breathe in between one and two thousand gallons of 
air, and this air must not only enter the lungs, but a portion 
of it must actually penetrate into the blood. 

The air we inhale is charged with oxygen, the air we 
exhale is poisoned with carbonic acid gas. Thus the fresh 
air is made impure by the act of breathing. " Each person 
spoils a gallon of air every minute." 

People who live night and day in close crowded apart- 
ments grow pale and languid. They do not breathe enough 
oxygen to keep their blood bright and pure, and the poison- 
ous carbonic acid is slowly doing its work. If it be so 
necessary for healthy people to breathe pure air, it is even 
more necessary for sick people. If you air the room from 
an inner door the air can not be as pure as from outside. 
" Windows are made to open, doors to shut," says a good 



no HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

authority on nursing. Always open the window above ; the 
hot used-up air ascends and can make its escape through the 
open space. The door and window should never be open at 
the same time, for this creates a draught and might give the 
patient cold. 

So arrange the position of the bed that you can stand 
between it and the window when you wait on the patient. 

The JPatient^s Bed should be in the lightest place in the 
room, but be careful that no glaring light strikes the pa- 
tient's eyes. It is well to stand it between the wall and fire- 
place and never to have its side to the wall. Keep the bed- 
stead and mattresses perfectly clean. Pillows should be used 
to support the back. Do not heap them one on top of the 
other like a pile of bricks, but adjust them so as to give the 
requisite slant for the patient to recline against them. 

A good bed-rest is formed by a chair placed upside down, 
with its back against the patient's back, of course with pillows 
or a blanket or comforter between. 

Keep the bed-clothes smooth both under and over the 
patient. Wrinkles and neglected bread-crumbs under the 
back will produce bed-sores. When the patient is too ill to 
sit up while you are changing the sheets, roll up the soiled 
sheet lightly to the middle lengthwise, not across the bed ; 
arrange the clean sheet on the bare space with half the width 
rolled up ; lift the patient on the clean sheet, slip off the 
soiled one on the other side and unroll the clean one. When 
people are very sick it is well to give a little nourishment 
before the fatiguing process of changing the bed-clothes. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. Ill 

Cleanliness. — There is nothing of more importance in 
the care of the sick than cleanHness. 

" Dirt is the best friend to disease ; it often brings on 
illness, and hmders cure." The germs of infectious diseases 
often find a lodgment on the crust of dirt and are thence 
absorbed into the body. Exercise helps the skin to perform 
its duties, and frequent washing is a necessity ; but cold bath- 
ing should not be used in case of illness except under a 
doctor's orders. The skin must be rubbed after bathing 
until it is warm. Hot water with a little alcohol in it and 
Castile soap should be used for bathing. Rubbing with a 
crash towel invigorates and gets up a good circulation of the 
blood. 

Sleep should be held almost sacred. When a patient 
sleeps never under any circumstances let him be awakened 
unless you have the doctor's permission. A weak person 
when once awakened can seldom fall asleep soon again. 
Sleep is " Nature's sweet restorer." 

In a sick person the brain is weakened by disease, and 
like other parts of the body needs strengthening. It gets 
this by sleep. 

If a patient sleeps for a time, the brain becomes stronger, 
and can the more readily rest the next time. 

Diet. — The food of an invahd is frequently more impor- 
tant than his medicine. The appetite at such times is very 
capricious, and much depends upon the care and ingenuity 
of the nurse. Nothing robs a sick person of his desire for 



112 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

food as hearing what he is to have discussed. Let the food 
be a surprise, and served in a neat attractive way. Do not 
keep food by the bedside, for the sight of it often nauseates 
a dehcate stomach. A sick person's plate should never be 
overloaded, and the food should be cooked with the greatest 
care. Remember that a patient's diet should be prepared so 
that it will not tax his weak digestion. When serving fluids 
keep the cup and saucer perfectly dry so that no drops of 
liquid will fall on the sheets, pillow or gown. If a patient 
can not lift his head slip the hand under the pillow and 
raise it for him. A feeding-cup with a spout will prevent 
the liquid running out at the sides of the mouth. Always 
place a napkin under the chin before feeding a patient. 

It is better to give food more frequently and less at a time 
than a quantity at once which the stomach may reject. All 
food should be fresh and of the best quality. 

The nurse must study what the patient can digest, and what 
will nourish him best. The diet of a healthy person is no 
guide for that of an invalid. 

Synijitonis, — A nurse should watch the symptoms of her 
patient very carefully, so that she can give a history of her 
case when the doctor comes. During his visit she should 
note every thing he says, and understand and remember his 
orders. If there are a number of things to be done, and 
medicines to be given frequently or at stated times, it is 
always best to write the directions down, so that they may be 
followed out to the letter. Obey the doctor's orders impli- 
citly. If an unfavorable change should occur inform him at 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 



once of the change, for a patient's life may be lost for lack 
of prompt medical attendance. 

Disinfection. — A person nursing a case of communicable 
disease, as scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid fever, small-pox, 
measles, chicken-pox, erysipelas, typhus fever, puerperal fever, 
or pyaemia, should be careful to wear nothing but cotton 
dresses that will wash. After contagious diseases remove 
the carpet and all draperies from the room ; put large pans 
of chloride of lime upon the floor, and pour strong vinegar 
upon it ; hurry from the room and close the doors ; chlorine 
gas will be disengaged. All the bedding must be made over. 
Destroy all articles that can not be disinfected, as books, 
toys, etc. 

For washing the bed and body clothing first soak the 
articles twelve hours in the following solution : Sulphate of 
zinc, two and a half ounces ; carbolic acid, one ounce ; hot 
water, one gallon. 

Floors and walls if not papered should be scrubbed with 
carbolic soap. Paper on the walls should be removed if 
directed by the physician. 

No animals or birds should be allowed in the sick-room 
when the disease is contagious, as the disease may be carried 
by them to other persons. 

It is dangerous to eat or drink any thing that has remained 
in the room of a person who has a fever or contagious dis- 
ease ; the germs in the air may have fallen on the food, and 
any one who eats it may catch the disease. 



114 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



RECIPES. 

A few directions are appended for preparing the articles 
oftenest needed by the sick one. 

Oatmeal ov Indian Meal Gruel, — Mix one or two 

tablespoons of the meal smoothly in cold water, then stir it 
in one pint of boiling water, salted with a saltspoon of salt ; 
boil slowly from one to two hours ; sweeten afterward, if 
desired, to suit the taste. 

Barlejf Gruel. — Wash the barley, then put half a tea- 
cup in a quart of cold water, let it boil two or three hours. 
Strain, sweeten to the taste, and flavor with a little grated 
nutmeg. (Gruels require very thorough cooking.) 

Thickened Milk. — Dissolve two tablespoons of flour in 
a teacup of cold water. Boil one quart of milk in a can 
within another vessel of water ; add the flour and water 
while the milk is boiling, stir all the while, and boil about 
ten minutes. Remove it from the fire, flavor with a tea- 
spoon of the essence of lemon or vanilla. Sweeten to the 
taste. 

Panada. — Put two or three soda crackers in a quart 
bowl ; pour boiling water on each cracker slowly, until it is 
swelled out, sprinkle a little sugar over the crackers, and add a 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. . II5 

cup of boiling water with a tablespoon of wine in it, if the 
patient requires it. Grate a little nutmeg on the top. 

Wine Whey* — Boil half a pint of fresh milk in a porce- 
lain saucepan. The moment the milk rises, pour in a small 
wine-glass of sherry. Let it boil up again, and set the sauce- 
pan over on one side of the fire till the curd forms a lump. 
Do not stir it ; the whey will separate from the curd. 

Arrowroot. — Two teaspoons of arrowroot will thicken 
half a pint of milk or water. Dissolve the arrowroot in half 
a teacup of cold water, and add it by degrees to the half 
pint of boiling milk or water, stirring over the fire all the 
while. Boil about five minutes ; flavor with essence of va- 
nilla, or wine, and sweeten to the taste ; grate a litde nutmeg 
over the top. 

Corn-starch or Farina may be made the same way. 

Boiled Bread and Milk, — Cut the crusts off a slice 
of bread (stale baker's bread is best), boil one pint of milk 
and pour over the bread, cover the dish for ten minutes with 
a cover or a plate, and the bread will be soaked evenly ; add 
sugar if desired. 

Toast Water is to be used when water is injurious, it 
satisfies thirst. Toast two slices of bread very brown, do not 
burn the bread, pour one quart of boiling water over the toast 
in a pitcher. Let it stand until cool before using. 



Il6 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Cocoa Nibs or Shells, — One quart of boiling water ; two 
ounces of cocoa nibs or shells ; one quart of fresh milk ; wet 
the shells or nibs with a teacup of cold water ; add the quart 
of boiling water ; when boiling add two tablespoons of white 
sugar; boil an hour and a half; strain; add the milk which 
has been heated, and take from the fire. This is excellent 
for nursing mothers and invalids. 

Beef Tea, — Chop fine one pound of beef freed from fat. 
Cover it with cold- water, and let it stand one hour, put it in 
a large-mouthed bottle, and place the bottle in a pot of cold 
water, let it boil slowly for two hours, until the juice is all- 
extracted from the meat ; season with a little salt. 

JBeef-juice and Wine (for very weak patients). — Take 
the tenderloin of a beefsteak, and warm it before the fire on 
a wire gridiron, cut it to pieces, and express the juice with a 
lemon squeezer ; put the juice in a wineglass of good wine. 
Give a teaspoonful at a time. 

Chicken Broth. — A chicken weighing two pounds will 
make a quart of broth. Cut the chicken to pieces and break 
all the bones ; pour on a quart of cold water, let it simmer 
from half to three quarters of an hour, or until the meat is 
separated from the bones ; strain it and put in a tablespoon 
of barley which has been cooked in a little warm water, add 
a pinch of salt. Some like • half a cup of wine added : in 
this case return it to the fire and let it simmer five minutes 
longer, taking care that it does not burn. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. WJ 

Lamh and Mutton Broth can be made in the same way. 

Chicken Jelly, — Take one chicken, and after having 
washed it thoroughly in cold water, cut the chicken to pieces 
and pound it until all the bones are smashed, then place the 
chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover it, about 
a quart. Heat it slowly in a covered vessel, and let it simmer 
slowly until the meat is in white shreds and the liquor is 
reduced to one-half. Strain and press, first through a col- 
ander and then through a coarse cloth, salt it to the taste, 
and return it to the fire ; let it come to a boil and simmer 
five "minutes, skim when cool ; pour into a jelly mold and it 
is ready for use. Keep it on the ice. 

Wine Jellff, — Half a box of Cox's gelatine, pour on this 
quantity half a pint of cold water, let it stand one hour ; then 
add one pint of boiling water, and half a pint of wine, and 
one teacup of powdered sugar. Strain through musHn, and 
pour it into molds that have been wet with hot water. 

Lemon Jellif is made in the same way, only use the juice 
and rind of two lemons instead of the wine. Grate the lemon, 
and allow the rind to soak in a cup of hot water for half an 
hour. 

iJice Jelly, — Half a cup of whole rice washed and 
soaked two hours in warm water. Add three pints of cold 
water and cook the rice to a smooth paste, and the water is 
reduced to two pints. Strain it through barred crinoline, 



Il8 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

and season it with a little salt, and sweeten to the taste with 
granulated sugar. This is excellent for children with bowel 
complaint. 

Barleij Water (for sick children). — Two tablespoons 
of pearl barley cleansed, two cups of boiling water, one pinch 
of salt and two teaspoons of white sugar; soak the barley 
half an hour in a teacup of warm water, stir it without drain- 
ing into the boiling water. Let it simmer for an hour, stirring 
often. Strain it before adding the sugar. 

Stewed Oysters (for one person). — Open and drain the 
liquor from six oysters ; mix a tablespoon of hot water with 
the juice, add a little salt and pepper ; boil five minutes ; skim 
off the froth, put in the oysters, let them boil five minutes, 
not 7?ioj'e ; add a teaspoon of butter; the moment it is 
melted, remove from the fire and add a half cup of milk 
which has been boiled when the oysters were stewing. 

Clam Broth (for one person). — Drain off a cup of 
juice from the clams, add half a teacup of hot water, season 
with a little salt and pepper ; let it boil five minutes, skim, 
throw in the clams, let them stew fifteen minutes, take them 
out and add a soda cracker which has been rolled into a 
powder. 

Bread Poultice, — This may be prepared with either hot 
water or hot milk. Mix the bread with the boiling hot water 
or milk and stir it till it becomes smooth, then spread it on 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. II9 

linen or muslin ; grease it slightly on the surface and lay 
it on the parts affected as warm as the patient can endure 
it. Test the degree of heat by first laying it on the back 
of your own hand ; if it can be borne there without incon- 
venience, the patient can not complain. 

For maturing abscesses and boils the bread-and-milk and 
flaxseed poultices are the most suitable ; after opening, how- 
ever, the slippery elm poultice is preferable. Either this or 
flaxseed may be used for carbuncles and deep ulcers. 

Flaxseed Poultice, — Moisten one tablespoon of ground 
flaxseed with water, heat it nearly to boiling ; then mix a tea- 
spoon of glycerine, to which eight drops of carbolic acid have 
been added, through the flaxseed ; put it in a ve?y thin muslin 
bag, — gauze is best, — and apply hot. 

Slippery Elm, ground, is made in the same way. 

Lye Poultice (for inflammation of the bowels). — On one 
quart of wood ashes pour two quarts of boiling water ; let it 
boil ten minutes, stir it well, then take it from the fire and 
let it settle ; drain off the water, thicken it with Indian 
meal. Make bags of flannel, put the poultice in one and 
apply hot ; have the other hot and ready when the one on 
is cool. 

Catui2) Poultice (for internal spasms and inflammation 
and contraction of the bladder) . — Make a strong tea of the 
catnip and thicken with Indian meal ; put it in a flannel bag 



1^0 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

and apply hot, change for another when cool until relief is 
given. 

Yeast Poultice. — Like the slippery elm and flaxseed, 
this is used on ulcers which slough a great deal, and where 
cores and other effete masses have to be removed by degrees. 
Heat a cup of yeast and thicken it with Indian meal ; apply 
as the flaxseed poultice is done. 

In all cases where poultices are apphed, the parts should 
be covered that their full effect may be had ; oiled silk makes 
the best covering. They should be changed frequently, par- 
ticularly in summer, as they will get sour, which should never 
be permitted. 

Oil the part or the poultice before applying. 

Mustard Poultice, — Mix mustard and corn meal, equal 
parts, spread on a cloth and cover with a piece of fine cloth 
which comes next to the skin. 

Mustard Plaster, — One tablespoon of ground mustard 
(Keen's or Coleman's is the best), moisten with water and 
spread on a muslin cloth ; cover the mustard with a thin 
gauze and apply. If the mustard is mixed with the white of 
an Qgg or a little salt, it will not blister the skin and can 
remain on much longer. 

3Iustard Draughts, — Soften two slices of bread with hot 
vinegar, mix with them one tablespoon of mustard and half 
a teaspoon of salt ; spread on a cloth, cover with gauze and 
bind them on the soles of the feet or calves of the legs. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 121 

Ginger Plaster. — Mix a tablespoon of ginger with a 
little water or white of an Qgg. It answers for heating, but 
will not draw the blood away as mustard will. 

Alum Whey and Curd, — Drop a lump of alum the 
size of a hickory nut into a teacup of hot milk. The curd 
will separate from the whey ; this is good to dra^v out inflam- 
madon from the eyes caused by cold. Put the curd moistened 
by the whey quite soft into a book-muslin bag and lay it over 
the eyes. 

Sassafras Tea (for bloodshot and inflamed eyes). — 
Quarter of an ounce of the pith of sassafras to a pint of 
boiling water ; let it draw until the water becomes slimy, then 
strain through thin muslin and bathe the eyes frequently with 
the tea. 



SECTION III. — EMERGENCIES. 

In the life of every woman there often comes either to 
herself or to those with whom she associates some accident 
or emergency, — perhaps only a slight one. It is necessary 
for her to know definitely what she ought, or ought not 
to do. Usually the simplest and most useful things are 
overlooked, while remedies are tried which often prove ver}' 
hurtful. This chapter is to present in easy form, a few sug- 
gestions as to what should be done, before the arrival of the 
physician. It has been wisely said that " for want of timely 
care, millions have died of medicable wounds." When an 



122 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

accident occurs, first see that the patient gets plenty of air. 
Do not let a crowd assemble around him ; loosen all clothes, 
place him fiat on the back, with his head, neck and shoulders 
slightly raised. If the person has fainted, give a sip of 
water, or a teaspoonful of brandy to tablespoonful of water 
every few minutes. If brandy is not at hand use fifteen 
drops of ammonia in a tablespoonful of water every few min- 
utes. Gentle frictions to the extremities, and hot flannel 
applications to the stomach and limbs are useful. 

In an ordinary faint see that the patient's head is placed 
lower than the body. We quote the following : *' Should the 
person be sitting in a chair at the moment, do not remove 
her, but stand behind the chair, reach the hands over in front 
so as to grasp the sides of the back of the chair, take a step 
backwards to give room, then slowly depress the back, sup- 
porting the head until the floor is reached. An assistant 
should hold down the dress. Usually the back of the head 
of the patient scarcely reaches the floor before consciousness 
returns." 

Drotvnhig, — When a person has been recovered from 
the water, his face should be turned downwards for a 
moment ; the forefinger of a bystander, slightly curved, is to 
be thrust backwards to depress the patient's tongue, thus allow- 
ing obnoxious mucus to escape. If possible, remove the cloth- 
ing and place him in a warm bed. Frictions should be 
made to the extremities, and hot water botdes or flannels 
applied to the body. For a time it seems as if fife had been 
suspended, breathing has apparently stopped, and it is neces- 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 1 23 

sary to promote it artificially. We copy the following way of 
thus forcing breathing, called " Silvester's ready method." 
This consists " in pulling the tongue forward, which better 
favors the passage of air along the base of the tongue into 
the windpipe, and then drawing the arms away from the sides 
of the body and upwards, so as to meet over the head, by 
means of which the ribs are raised by the muscles running 
from them to the arms near the shoulder. A vacuum is thus 
created in the lungs, the air rushes in, and the blood is 
purified by the passage of the impure gases in the blood 
vessels to the air, and by the giving up by the air of a portion 
of its oxygen to the blood. 

" The arms are now brought down to the sides, and the 
elbows made to almost meet over the pit of the stomach. 
This produces contraction of the walls of the chest and 
expulsion of the impure air from the lungs. These two 
movements constitute an act of respiration, and should be 
repeated and persisted in, without interruption, at the rate 
of about sixteen to the minute." 

As soon as the patient shows signs of returning conscious- 
ness a few drops of brandy in water may be given, and beef- 
tea or other nourishment should be prepared. 

Burns and Scalds. — When a person is found on fire, 
throw him on the ground, to prevent flames from rising to 
mouth or nostrils, and instantly envelope in a carpet, rug, 
blanket, shawl, or any woolen article. Keep the hot air from 
mouth by beginning to stifle the flames from the head down- 
ward. If the burn is slight, one of the easiest and best 



T24 /HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

remedies to use is soft linen, wrung out in cold water, and 
applied to the injured part. When pain subsides a dressing 
should be apphed. The white of an ^%g, put on by a brush 
or old linen is helpful, or a lather of soap from the shaving 
cup. Linseed oil, pure lard, and lime water are also useful. 
Do not apply cotton batting, as it adheres to the burn, and 
in the end occasions more pain. If the burn is at all serious, 
send instantly for a physician. Keep all air from the burn. 

Wounds or Cuts, — Wounds even when slight are some- 
times attended with serious loss of blood. Our first thought 
must therefore be to stanch the blood ; and to do this we 
must aim to form a clot of blood. If the wound is small, 
pressing a finger on it for some time is the simplest remedy. It 
is necessary to elevate the limb, and apply (if at hand) broken 
ice above the wound. If the wound is large a tight pressure 
above it must be made. This is done by tying a handker- 
chief or a piece of muslin around the limb above the wound ; 
to render it tighter, insert a stick and turn it several times. 
Do not remove the pressure to see if the blood has ceased 
flowing for some time. In all cases of hemorrhage, let the 
bystanders show no excitement, and keep the patient as quiet 
as possible. 

After blood has ceased flowing, and a sufficient time has 
elapsed to form the clot, a quiet stream of water may be 
allowed to flow on the wound to remove foreign substances, 
and the parts should be carefully brought together, and re- 
tained in place by thin strips of plaster. Salt thrown in the 
wound often hastens the formation of a clot. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 125 



For a hemorrhage from the mouth, special care must be 
taken to keep the patient and yourself perfectly free from 
excitement. If blood comes in great quantities and is dark 
in color it is not so dangerous, as it proceeds from the stom- 
ach, but if blood IS bright colored and comes in less quantity 
there is danger, as the hemorrhage is from the lungs; give 
teaspoonful of salt or strong lime, and apply ice cold cloths 
to the chest. Keep the patient in the reclining position, and 
send instantly for physician. 

Bleeding from the nose can generally be stopped by rolling 
a piece of paper very hard and placing it under the tongue, 
or by laying the patient flat on the back, and applying ice to 
the forehead and the back of the neck. For bruises use cold 
water appHcations. For bumps use warm water. A few drops 
of tincture of arnica in the water is excellent; Pond's Ex- 
tract is also very good. For sprains immerse the limb in as hot 
water as it can bear, keep it very quiet and wet occasionally 
with arnica. 

Foreign Bodies, — One can frequently remove specks 
from the eye by winking with the upper lid held over the under 
Hd, by rolling over the upper lid upon a pencil and wiping 
the speck out, or by holding the upper lid and blowing the 
nose. An eye stone is useful to put in the eye ; it occasions 
no pain nor inconvenience. 

If lime gets into the eye, wash the eye immediately with 
milk until the lime is entirely removed. Cover the eye with a 
bandage or shield to protect from the light. 

If molten lead or other burning substance gets into the eye, 
use milk and send immediately for physician. 



1-26 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

If foreign substances should get into a child's nose, he 
should be made to take a full breath, then holding other 
"nostril and mouth closed should allow air to escape ; in 
doing this, it frequently will dislodge the substance, espe- 
cially if assisted by a sharp blow upon the back. If this will not 
dislodge it, compress by the fingers just above the substance to 
prevent its going farther, and then it can probably be hooked 
out with the bent end of a wire. If not, let a physician 
see the child as soon as possible. When any thing gets 
into the ear great care must be taken not to remove it with 
a probe for fear of permanent injury. 

Convulsions, — If a child is taken with convulsions, put 
it instantly into a hot bath (98° to 110° Fah.) to relax the 
muscles. Be very careful that the water is not too hot. Apply 
cold water compresses to the head. In fits there is little to do 
but to loosen all clothing and to give the patient plenty of 
fresh air. 

When a person is bitten by a dog the first thing to do is 
to get rid of the poison before it passes into the system. 
This must be done by burning it out, or by a friend sucking it 
out, and immediately rejecting the blood taken into mouth. 

Poisoning, — If poison has been swallowed try to pro- 
mote vomiting. A tumbler of warm water containing a table- 
spoon of ground mustard should be given at once. Common 
salt will do instead of the mustard if that is not at hand. 
Tickle tlie back of the throat with the finger or with a feather 
if vomiting is not caused, and repeat the use of hot water. 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 12/ 

If acid has been swallowed, such as oxaHc acid (often used 
in cleaning brasses), first give a tablespoon of magnesia, 
common whiting, or carbonate of soda. For an alkaline 
poison, such as sugar of lead, give vinegar and water at once, 
in addition to the emetics. For arsenic poisoning, give the 
emetic, and send or take the patient to the druggist, for 
dialysed iron, giving a tablespoon every five minutes. For 
opium poisoning, give strong coffee and keep the patient 
walking between two assistants. 

Other prompt emetics are tartar emetic, two to five grains : 
powdered ipecac, twenty to sixty grains : sulphate of zinc, 
twenty to forty grains : and sulphate of copper, ten to thirty 
grains. 

Croup, — Send at once for the doctor. Until he comes 
give sirup of ipecac, half a teaspoon to a child of less than 
a year, a teaspoon to an older child, a teaspoon and a half to 
a child of two years. Repeat the dose in twenty minutes if 
no vomiting occurs. Rub the child's throat and chest with 
camphorated oil, and tie a flannel wet with camphorated oil 
round the throat. 

It is very important to keep the child in a warm even tem- 
perature of 70° Fah. away from draughts. Moisten the air of 
the room by evaporating water over a gas-burner or spirit lamp. 

Sunstroke, — When a person is attacked with sunstroke, 
he must be carried into a cool place, and the temperature of 
the body reduced. This can best be done by undressing him, 
dashing cold water over him, and applying ice. Sunstroke 



128 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

may be often prevented by abstaining from the excessive 
use of cold water, wearing loose light fitting garments, and 
paying particular attention not to expose the head to the 
rays of the sun. If symptoms appear, drop e\'ery occupa- 
tion and retire to the shade. 

With Chilblains one must keep away from the fire, and 
bathe the feet at least once a day in cold water or rub them 
with snow. 

Hot water applications are most useful in relieving severe 
pain of any kind, by relaxing the muscles. Wring out flannel 
in hot water and apply it, if hot water bags are not conven- 
ient. In all accidents and emergencies we must remember 
that it is absolutely necessary to keep ourselves from showing 
anxiety or excitement. Then too we must not wait for others 
to act, but must ourselves proceed, as if the life of the 
patient depended upon ourselves alone, in a quiet and de- 
cided way. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VIIJ. 

Section I. — What is hygiene? What should be the first 
care in selecting a house ? What care should be taken in fur- 
nishing.'* What is of the highest importance in a house ? Name 
the best disinfectants. How should we sleep ? What care should 
be taken of the windows? Why is pure air so necessary? Is 
there any danger in the modern way of living? What is as 
important as fresh air ? How must water be used ? What 
should be done with decaying matter? What should be done to 
prevent the escape of obnoxious gas from the waste-pipes in a 



HEALTH AND ILLNESS. 1 29 

bedroom? Is it well to use a disinfectant? Where should it 
be used ? What danger arises from the use of a furnace ? 
How should rooms be kept? What is of the first great impor- 
tance in personal health ? How shall we dress ? What is said 
about the harm of high heels ? What shall we eat ? How shall 
we eat? Why should we not start into the day's work taking 
simply tea and coffee ? Why should we take plenty of exercise, 
and be out in the open air? What should be done in walking? 
Why is sleep necessary ? What care should be taken of the 
eye? what of the ear? the throat? the teeth? the hair? Why 
should care be taken in the use of liniments, washes, etc.? 
Name once more the primary rules of hygiene. 

Sect. II. — What is said about the duties of the nurse? 
About training, and about natural gifts, for the work ? Describe 
the qualifications of a good nurse. What kinds of noise are 
the most trying to the patient ? What is the best ventilator 
of the room ? Mention a precaution to be taken by the nurse. 
What was Miss Nightmgale's first rule for the sick-room? What 
caution against draughts must be taken ? How would you place 
the sick-bed ? How arrange the pillows ? What makes a good 
bed-rest ? Why should the bed-clothes be kept free from wrin- 
kles ? How may the bed-clothes be changed without removing 
the invalid ? What is said about bathing the patient ? about his 
sleep? his diet? Is it better to give a little food often, or more 
less frequently ? How must the nurse watch the patient's symp- 
toms ? What are the most common of the communicable dis- 
eases ? Give some account of the way to disinfect a room. 
What caution is necessary in respect to pet animals or birds ? 
in respect to food that has been near a source of contagion ? 

Sect. III. — Why is it necessary to know how to act in case 
of an emergency ? When an accident occurs, what must first 
be done ? If the person has lost consciousness, what must be 



I:30 - HOUSEHOLD ECONOMYr ' 

given him? When an ordinary faint occurs what can be done? 
What preliminary steps are to be taken for a person in a drown- 
ing condition ? Describe Silvester's Ready Method. How can 
burns and scalds be treated ? What must be the first thought 
when a person is v;ounded ? How can blood be stanched ? 
After blood has ceased flowing what must be done? Describe 
treatment for a hemorrhage from the mouth. What is the dif- 
ference between blood flowing from the stomach and from the 
lungs ? How can you stop bleeding from the nose ? What can 
be applied for a bruise ? what for a sprain ? How remove 
foreign substances from the eye? from the nose? from the ear? 
When a child is taken with convulsions, what can be done ? If a 
person is bitten by a mad dog, what should instantly be done ? 
What are some of the chief antidotes for poisons ? Describe 
treatment for sunstroke, and precautions to be taken against it. 
For chilblains what must be done ? How can severe pain be re- 
lieved? When any accident occurs how should the bystander 
act? 



ECONOMY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES. 131 



CHAPTER IX. 
ECONOMY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES. 

SECTION I. — ECONOMY. 

This may be defined as frugality in the use of things, and 
it may be applied to the use of time and labor, as well as to 
that of money. 

Three Bides for Econotnt/, — ist. Be as careful of 
small amounts as of large ones. 

2d. Think twice before making any purchase. 

3d. Never buy a thing because it is cheap. 

The first of these rules is well illustrated in the old maxim, 
"Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of 
themselves," and in the saying, "A penny saved is a penny 
gained." The saving of ten cents a day seems but a small 
thing, but it amounts to three dollars at the end of a month, 
and to thirty-six dollars during a year. 

It is easy to see how this principle applies to the use of 
money, but one is apt to overlook it in other things. Study, 
however, to carry it out in every detail of Hving. In the 
kitchen let nothing be thrown away. 

Saving Food. — A careful housekeeper can soon leant to 



132 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

make use of the smallest bit of food to advantage. Let a 
pot be daily standing on the fire into which all the bones of 
meat can be placed to simmer into a good soup. This can 
be varied from day to day by adding any small pieces of 
meat or vegetables, or even crusts of bread. Crusts too can 
always be made into a good pudding. A variety can thus be 
added to the meals of a family at the expense of only a 
little trouble. 

Odds and Ends, — Be careful to put aside pieces of paper 
and twine, and bottles ; a few cents will be saved each time 
you need a prescription at a druggist's if you can take a 
phial or bottle to be filled. Let all pieces of wrapping-paper 
be neatly folded and kept together. Cut off the back of 
notes and letters that are not written on, and keep them for 
future use ; tie up evenly small bits of string, and have a box 
or bag for keeping them in. So also have bags for preserving 
all pieces of material that have been used in the clothing of 
a family, one bag for woolens, one for white materials, and one 
for colored ones. There is great economy in having such 
pieces always at hand for mending or making over a garment. 

Judicious Buying, — The second rule, to think twice 
before purchasing, will save many an ouday. Before going to 
market determine carefully what is required for the day, and 
do not purchase at hap-hazard. Buy in large quantities, if 
possible, what is not injured by keeping. The price is gener- 
ally cheaper, and there is always a waste in frequent measur- 
ing and weighing. Above all, do not buy what you can not 



E CO NO MY, S YS TEA/, A MEN/ TIES. I 3 3 

pay for at the time of purchasing. There is no greater dan- 
ger to the pocket nor to the peace of a family than the 
running up a bill at the butcher's or grocer's. 

In making any purchase for yourself, or for the house, ask 
the question, "Can I do without it?" In answering this, 
one often finds that the article is quite unnecessary, and by 
a little managing dress or furniture can be made to look 
quite as well without it. 

This question should be especially asked when one is 
tempted to buy a thing because it is cheap. When an arti- 
cle is sold below the ordinary price it is generally because it 
is not of good quality. The weight, coloring and texture of 
all made goods are easily imitated, and a good appearance 
can be offered at a small price. Take great care then that 
you get a genuine article. The additional amount paid for it 
will be more than gained by the length of time it will last. 

Economy of Time. — As said in the beginning of this 
chapter, economy may be exercised in the use of time and 
labor, as well as in that of money. Take especial care of all 
small amounts of time. Form the habit of taking up a book, 
or doing some light sewing, when waiting between the regular 
employments of a day. Ten minutes saved each day will 
amount to more than an hour at the end of a week. Be 
careful of the many chance ten minutes. 

In all kinds of work, economy of both time and labor 
can be practiced. Many minutes and many steps are saved 
by having all the implements of any employment carefully 
arranged before you begin it. 



134 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 



SECTION II. — SYSTEM. 

This virtue goes very far towards producing comfort and 
happiness in a household. To work according to system is 
to have every thing arranged with a regular method and 
order. 

Set Hours, — In a family the hours of each day should 
be planned for with great regularity, as in a school. The 
meals especially should be served punctually. To effect this, 
at least one good clock should hang in a conspicuous place 
in the house, where all may be guided by it. As far as pos- 
sible let the labor and serving in a family be carried on at 
the same hour in each successive day. Instead of chancing 
to go out one day in the morning and perhaps the next day 
in the afternoon and letting the work come in at any irregu- 
lar time, arrange a certain portion for going out, and let the 
remaining time indoors be filled with its own methodical 
employment. 

Set Days, — In the same manner let particular work be 
assigned to each day of the week so that there may be a 
stated time for the washing, cleaning, mending, etc. In this 
way all the members of a household will know how to depend 
upon each other's time and engagements, and there will be 
little chance for the overwork and hurry and fret that are 
often found in families. 



ECONOMY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES. 1 35 

Places for Things, — Equally important is the necessity 
of method in the arranging and care of the house. The old 
motto, " A place for every thing and every thing in its place," 
should be carried out in each room and in every pantry, 
closet, shelf and drawer. In the kitchen there should be a 
place for each pan and pot and kettle, so that even in the 
dark one might put their hand on what is needed. In 
closets, garments should always be hung on their own appro- 
priate nail, not first on one and then on another. In bureau 
and table drawers there should be a particular place for hand- 
kerchiefs, gloves, collars, and each variety of clothing; and 
when laying them aside each should be put on the pile 
arranged for it. In this way much time is saved which would 
otherwise be spent in looking for mislaid articles. 

Accounts, — There is especial need of system in the care 
of money and in the managing of expenses. However small 
a sum is to be expended, an accurate account should be kept 
of each expenditure and of the object for which it is spent. 
No woman should be content without her account-book. 
Should she have the care of a family, she should keep a sepa- 
rate list of personal and of household expenses, and these 
lists should be carefully added up and examined at least once 
a week. Especial care should be taken of bills that have 
been paid. They should be neady folded of a similar width 
and length and the amount and date of each bill written upon 
the back, and all should be carefully kept tied up together. 
Trouble and loss are often occasioned by the careless losing 
or misplacing of one, as dealers sometimes present a bill 
the second time. 



136 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY, 



SECTION III. — CONCLUSION. HOUSEHOLD AMENITIES. 

More is needed beside the neatness, cleanliness and health- 
fulness of a home. It should be made the brightest and 
happiest place in the world to the occupants, a place where 
sure sympathy may be found from all, where there is so much 
attractiveness that no one is tempted to leave it to find 
pleasure. 

Decoration, — Let the ornaments of the home be studied. 
It is not necessary to have wealth to furnish it with taste, but 
it does require time and ingenuity. The smallest picture on 
the wall has attractions ; even bright colored cards in home- 
made straw frames will go far towards taking from the bareness 
of the room. Curtains if fresh and clean give a home-like air. 
Brackets, made of pine and stained, covered with a few books 
or papers, will answer to fill the corners of the room. 

Furnishinfj, — Chintz is inexpensive but very pretty, and 
can be used in many ways. Old sofas or chairs are made to 
look new with a fresh chintz cover, and a trunk that has to 
stand in a bedroom can be rendered quite a pretty article of 
furniture by means of a cover. An ordinary soap-box or 
butter-tub can be stuffed on the top, have casters put in the 
bottom and covered with some pretty material and thus it will 
be transformed into a pleasant seat or foot-stool. 

In buying furniture, select the most comfortable chairs or 
sofas that your means will allow even if not in the fashion. 



ECONOMY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES. 1 37 

Table-covers made from bright colored flannels or cloths 
give a tone to the whole room. Study to have the carpet 
of a quiet tone, and choose it of some color that will warm 
the room. 

A variety of little homely things on the mantel or table, 
if kept well dusted and neatly arranged, give the room an air 
of being used. Books, papers, magazines, or even a work- 
basket adds to this appearance. Avoid always the look of 
being " too good to be used." See that the lamp or gas is so 
arranged that chairs can easily be drawn under it. Plants and 
flowers give a pleasant air to the room ; one or two birds in 
pretty cages add to this. If possible, in winter have an open 
fire-place, or if a stove has to be used, let it be one with an 
open front. The red glow from the coals or wood always 
throws out a welcome. These are little things, it is true ; 
but it is combined little things that form the great things of 
life. 

Home Courtesies, — When you have done what you can 
to make home attractive in the way of ornament and furniture, 
there are still other things to be attended to if the home is to 
be truly bright and happy. 

Household courtesies are most important. Courtesy in 
company is understood by nearly every one. It is known 
that one must be polite and thoughtful if one wishes to 
please, but in the home is this same politeness and thought- 
fulness enough considered? One must remember to express 
thanks for favors received, to say " please," to ask to be ex- 
cused if a rude thing is done unintentionally, as much at 



138 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

home as when one is visiting. Remember to speak quietly. 
A gentle, low but distinct tone may -be heard more easily 
than a loud, rough one. Try especially to speak gently 
to children. They will quickly copy a loud voice. Do not 
accustom the voice to use angry tones. Let home table man- 
ners be as polished as possible. Forget self, and be thought- 
ful of the feelings of others. If the law of unselfish kindness 
could once be thoroughly understood and practiced, if all, 
particularly the young, could realize the rich reward for every 
kind act and would try to perform these acts, much would 
be gained towards rendering a family happy. Be especially 
considerate of the aged members of the home, also of the 
invalid. 

It is necessary here to enforce the importance of courtesy, 
not only in the home, but also the courtesy which should 
always be shown in the street, public conveyances or hails. 
It is impossible to give rules of deportment ; but this general 
rule can be laid down, that true courtesy always springs from 
thoughtfulness of the feelings of others, whenever or wherever 
they may be met. 

Perfect Trnthfulness in the smallest details must be 
acquired. Do not deceive children in any way, if you desire 
that they should grow up truthful. Do not exaggerate ; ex- 
aggeration is a fault common to many, and it should be over- 
come. " Oh, I didn't think," is an expression which while 
often heard should not be allowed. 

Heedlessness will lead to many evils. Procrastination is 
the habit of putting off what should be done at once. No 



ECOjVOAfY, SYSTEM, AMENITIES. 1 39 

one is more tempted to put off till another time some little 
duty than a housekeeper who has many cares. Remember 
always that to-morrow has its own duties and unexpected 
ones may arise. The proverb, '' A stitch in time saves nine," 
is always true. A little tear, a small darn is easy now to mend, 
but by putting off the mending the garment may be past any 
repairing. Punctuality is a trait which will keep a household 
moving harmoniously. 

A thing which is done in a whole-hearted manner is always 
better work than when the same is done with only half an 
interest. Enthusiasm will render much easier a duty to be 
performed; therefore strive to have an earnest interest in 
every duty of life. 

Cheer fulness, — Try not to grumble or find fault with 
those things not pleasing to self which occur in daily life. 

Look on the bright side of every disagreeable thing which 
happens. Be cheerful ! If an accident occurs, hke the 
breaking of a favorite ornament, the spoiling of a dress, or 
the losing of some valued possession, do not make a fuss 
about it, but bear the trial as bravely as possible. Every one 
who desires to make a happy home must try and cultivate a 
large supply of patience and courage, as well as much perse- 
verance. Little troubles are constandy arising where pa- 
tience and courage are needed. Failures will occur, when one 
is trying to do well ; do not be discouraged, but try again. 
Success usually comes after many failures. 

And lastly, do not worry over housekeeping ; do not be 
distressed if some things go wrong in spite of your best care. 



I40 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 

Cheerfulness is a crowning duty. A cheerful heart must not 
be sacrificed to careful housekeeping. 

For the life is more than the food ; and the body than the 
raiment. 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER IX. 

Section I. — How may household economy be defined.'* 
What are three good rules for economy ? How may food be 
economized 1 Mention some odds and ends that are worth sav- 
ing. What are the rules for judicious buying? Explain how 
economy of time may be practiced. 

Sect. II.- — What advantage is tliere in having set hours for 
different occupations ? in having set days 1 What is said of 
keeping everything in its own place? What should be done in 
the matter of keeping accounts and bills ? 

Sect. III. — What is said about decorating the home? Give 
some account of inexpensive ways of furnishing. For what qual- 
ity would you select chairs and sofas ? How would you give a 
room the air of being used ? What advantage has the open 
grate fire ? Mention some of the home courtesies that must 
not be forgotten. What is said of truthfulness? of punctuality? 
What is a crownin": virtue in the home? 



INDEX. 



A. 

Accounts, to be kept, 135. 
Amenities of home, 136-140. 
Antidotes for poisoning, 126. 
Apples, baking and cooking, 11. 
Asparagus, how to boil, 29. 
Attic, how to clean it, 73. 

B. 

Bathing, 104. 
Bathroom, care of, 60. 
Beans, how long to boil, 29. 
Bed, how to make it, 55. 

care of it, 67. 
Bedding, care of, 62. 
Bedroom closets, 61. 
Bedrooms, care of, 54, 57. 

how to clean them, 74. 
Bed-rest for an invalid, no. 
Beef, 13. 

how to choose it, 8. 

to roast or boil it, 27. 
Beets, how long to boil, 28. 
Blankets, how to wash, 37. 

how they should be kept, 62. 
Bleeding, how to stop, 124, 125. 
Blinds, how to clean, 67. 
Bookcases, the best, 96. 
Books as companions, 94, 

care of, 96, 97. 
Bosom-board, 33. 
Brass rods, cleaning of, 65. 
Brasses, how to clean, 69, 79. 
Bread, 15. 

Bronze rods, how to clean, 65. 
Broom-closet, 45, 62. 



Brown bread, 15. 
Buckwheat, 15. 
Burns, treatment of, 123. 
Butler's pantry, 45. 
Buttonholes, how to make, 90. 

c. 

Cabbage, how long to boil, 28. 

Cashmere, 89. 

Candle-grease, how to remove, 81. 

Canton flannel for underclothing, 88. 

Carpet-sweepers, 68. 

Carpets, how to clean, 64, 65, 70, 75, 79. 

Carrots, how long to boil, 29. 

Cellars, 6, 7, 72. 

Cereals, 15, 24. 

Chamber-work, 54. 

Chandeliers, how to clean, 78. 

Charcoal for kitchen odors, 6. 

Cheap purchases, 133. 

Cheerfulness in the house, 139. 

Chickens, how long to roast, 27. 

Chilblains, how to treat, 128. 

Children's meals, 20. 

China and glass, 43, 45, 50-53. 

China closets, 45. 

Chocolate, 17. 

Cleaning of kitchen, 4, 5. 

of utensils, 5, 69. 

of cellar, 6, 72. 

of bedroom, 57. 

of grates, 59. 

cf the house, 67. 

of the library, 97. 
Cleanliness, 102. 

in the sick-room, iii. 
141 



142 



INDEX. 



Closets, bedroom, 6i. 

broom, 45, 62. 

coal, 63. 

linen, 62. 

cleaning of, 75. 
Clothes lines and pins, 34. 
Coal closet, 63. 
Coffee, 17. 

how to make it, 29. 

Condiments, 17. 

Cooking, plain, 25. 

essentials in, 26. 
Cooking utensils, the chief, 2. 
Copper utensils, how to cleanse and wash 

them, 3, 5. 
Corn, how long to boil, 29. 
Corsets, 86. 

Courtesies of the household, 137. 
Croton water, 16. 
Croup, treatment 6f, 127. 
Cuts, how to treat, 124. 
Cutting out work, how to do it, 92. 

D. 
Darning, 91. 
Decorations, house, 136. 
Desserts, 24. 
Diet, mixed, 12. 
Diet in sickness, in. 

recipes for, 114. 
Digestion, how promoted, 20, 23. 
Dinner courses, 48. 
Dish-towels, how to wash, 2. 
Dish-washing, 44, 46, 51-53. 
Disinfectants, 6, loi, 103, 113. 
Doilies, 44. 

Door, attending the, 50. 
Dress, 83-89. 

should be easy, 84, 85, 104. 
Drowning, treatment of, 122. 
Drying clothes, 36. 
Dumb waiter, 46. 
Dusting, 67, 63. 
Dyspeptics, how they should eat, 19. 



E. 



Ear, care of the, 105. 

foreign substances in, 126. 



Eating, irregular, 19, 104. 

before working, 21. 
Economy in cooking, 27, 132. 
rules for, 131. 
of time and labor, 133. 
Eggs, 14. 

Emergencies, 121-130. 
Emetics, 126, 127. 
Entrances, cleaning of, 80. 
ELvercise, 105. 
Eyes, care of, 105, no. 

foreign bodies in, 125. 

F. 

Fainting, treatment of, 122 
Fatty foods, 13 
Felling, 92. 

Fires, how to make in the range, i. 
in a grate, 58. 
wood, 59. 
Fish, 14. 

how to buy, 10. 
Flannels, 88. 

how to use therii, 84. 
how to wash them, 37. 
Flatirons, 34, 41. 

Floors, how to clean coverea, 5, 61, 63. 
marble, 63. 
wooden, 5, 61, 64. 
of bedroom closets, 61. 
Food, 12-30. 

variety of, 24. 
Fowls, how to buy, 10. 

how to roast, 27. 
French cooking, e.xcellencc of, 26, 27. 
Fruit and vegetables, 7, 14, 23. 

how to choose them, 
II. 
Furnishing, economical, 136. 
Furniture, choosing, 74. 

G. 

Gas-globes, how to clean, 70. 
Gathering, 92. 
Gingham dresses, 88. 
Glass, how to clean, 70. 
Gloves, 87. 



INDEX. 



143 



Graham bread, 15. 
Grate fires, how to build, 58. 
Grates, how to clean, 59, 73. 
Grease spots, how to remove, 81. 

H. 

Hair, care of the, 106. 
Ham, how long to boil, 28. 
Heating, equable, 103. 
Hemming, gr. 

Hemorrhage, treatment of, 124, 125. 
High heels injurious, 87. 
Home courtesies, 137. 
Hominy, how long to boil, 29. 
Hot water applications, 128. 
House-cleaning, 71. 
Household work honorable, iv. 
Hygiene defined, loi. 



I. 

Iced water, 16. 

India rubber overshoes, 84. 

Indian meal, 15. 

Iron rust, how to remove, 82. 

Iron utensils, how to cleanse, 3. 

Ironing, 40. 

blanket and table, 33. 



K. 

Kerosene, how not to use it, 59. 
Kinking, to prevent, 92. 
Kitchen cleaning, 4,5. 



L. 

Lamb, how to buy, 10. 

how long to roast, 27. 
Laundry apparatus, 32.. 
Lawns, how to wash, 38. 
Leguminous vegetables, 11. 
Library, the, 78, 94. 

the family room, 99. 
Light in the eyes, 105, no. 
Linen, 67. 
Linen closet, 62. 
Lotions, caution respecting, 107. 



M. 

Making fires, i, 58. 
Marketing, 7, 11. 
Marble, how to clean, 77. 
Mats, 64, 79. 
Meals, time for, 18, 22. 

courses at, 48. 
Meat diet, 12. 
Meats, how to choose, 8-10. 

time for cooking, 27. 
Medicines, how to be kept, 61. 
Mildew, how to remove, 37. 
Milk, 16, 114. 
Mixed diet, 12. 
Molasses, 15. 
Monotony in diet, 24. 
Muslins, to wash and starch, 38, 39. 
Mutton, 13. 

how to choose and cook it, 10, 27. 

N. 

" NiBBLERS," 21. 

Nose, foreign bodies in, 126. 
Nose-bleed, how to slop it, 125. 
Nurse, qualifications of a, 108. 

o. 

Oatmeal, how to boil, 29. 

Objects of dress, 83. 

Odds and ends to be saved, 132. 

Oilcloths, 5, 64. 

Order and system, 43, 44. 

Ornaments, choice of, 136, 137. 

care in cleaning them, 77, 78. 
Outer clothing, 87. 
Over-heating, 103. 
Overshoes, 84. 
Oxalic acid, care in using, 6. 



Paint, how to clean it, 75, 76. 

Paint spots, to remove, 81. 

Pantries, 45. 

Patching, 91. 

Pease, how long to boil, 29. 

Pictures, care of, 74. 



144 



INDEX. 



Pies, 24. 

Places for things, 135. 
Plain sewing, 90-93. 
Plated rods, cleaning of, 65, 
Poisons, antidotes for, 126. 

how to keep them safely, 6, 61, 
Pork, 13. 

how to choose and cook it, 9, 27. 
Potatoes, how to boil, 28. 
Pots, iron, how to wash them, 3. 
Provision cellar, the, 7. 

R. 

Recipes for the sick-room, 114. 

Refrigerator, use and cleaning of, 4. 

Regular hours, 134. 

Rice, how to boil, 29. 

Rice starch, how to make, 40. 

Rubbers, 84. 

Rugs, 64. 

Rust, how to remove, 81. 



Scalding clothes, 35. 

Scalds, treatment of, 123. 

Set hours and days, 134. 

Setting the table, 46-48. 

Sewing, different kinds of, 90. 

Shams, 62, 67. 

Shoe-bags, 61. 

Shoes, 87. 

Sideboard, arrangement of, 43, 45. 

Sick-bed, care of the, no. 

Sickness, food given in, 112. 

Silks, 89. 

Silver, how to clean, 52, 70. 

Silvester's method, 123. 

Sink, how to clean it, 2. 

Skirt-board, 33. 

Skylights, cleaning of, 80. 

Sleep, 105, III. 

Sleeve-board, 34. 

Soaking clothes, 35. 

Soot, how to remove from carpet, 70. 

Sore throat, treatment of, 106. 

Soups, 23, 29. 

Spinach, how long to boil, 38. 



Spots, how to remove, 70, 81. 

Spreads, how to fold them, 62. 

Stains, how to remove them, 37, 70, 81. 

Stairs and stair-rods, 64, 65. 

Starch, how to make, 38, 40. 

Steel, how to clean it, 69. 

Sugar, 15, 16. 

Sunstroke, how to treat it, 127. 

Sweeping, 68. 

Symptoms of the sick to be noted, 112. 

System, the importance of, 134. 



Table, an attractive, 24, 42. 

Table-setting, 46-48. 

Table-waiting, 49. 

Tea, 17. 

Teeth, care of the, 106. 

Throat, care of the, 106. 

Time, economy of, 133. 

Tins, how to wash them, 3. 

Tongue, how long to boil it, 28. 

Turkey, time required for cooking, 27, 28. 

Turnips, time for boiling, 28. 

Treacle, 15. 

Truthfulness, 138. 

Tubs for washing, 32, 35. 



Underclothing, 86. 88. 



Veal, 13. 

how to choose and roast it, 9, 27. 
Vegetable diet, 12. 
Vegetables, n, 14. 

how to boil them, 28. 
Ventilation, 42, 54, 60, 101, 102, 109. 

w. 

Waiting at the table, 49. 
Walls, how to clean, 5. 
Washing of kitchen utensils, 2, 3. 

of clothes, 35, 38. 

of silver and glass, 52, 70. 



INDEX. 



145 



Washing of dishes, 44, 51-53. 

of marble, 63, 70. 

of paint and woodwork, 75, 76. 

of windows and mirrors, 68. 
Waste paper basket, 98. 
Waste-pipes, 4, 
Water, 16. 

Water-closet, care of, 60. 
Weekly cleanmg, 4-6, 59, 67. 
Whitewash, how to make, 72. 
Whitewashing the cellar, 6, 72. 
the attic, 73. 



Windows, how to arrange for ventilation, no. 

Wood carpets, 64, 

Wood fire, how to make, 59. 

Wooden rods, cleaning of, 65. 

ware, how to wash it, 3. 
Woodwork, how to clean, 76. 
Work-basket, contents of, 90, 
Worry to be avoided, 140. 
Wounds, how to treat, 124. 
Wraps, care in using, 84. 
Wringer, adjustable, 33. 
Writing materials, 98. 



